The ingenuity of drug traffickers seems to have no limits and the unlikely hiding places they use to introduce the drug into the United States —either by land or by air— bear witness to this.
So far in October alone, authorities discovered three drug shipments in unthinkable hiding places.
Earlier this month, fentanyl and methamphetamine were found inside tamales and pumpkins.
And, this Thursday, they found another
12,000 fentanyl pills in bags of
Skittles
, the popular candy
.
But the list of finds like these is much longer.
“Virtually any merchandise that can be imported is a potential hiding place for smugglers
,” Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer John B. Mennell told Noticias Telemundo.
We've rounded up 13 drug smuggling hideouts that highlight the growing creativity of criminal minds, but also the growing danger facing the public.
1
Can of jalapeño peppers brand 'La comadre', which the Sinaloa Cartel filled with cocaine. New York Prosecutor's Office
This photo of a can of La Comadre
brand chiles
is a holdover from the time when drug lord Joaquín
El Chapo
Guzmán flouted United States law to create his drug empire, back in the 1990s.
The New York District Attorney's Office shared the photo during his trial in Brooklyn in 2018 to show one of the many methods with which he trafficked tons of cocaine across the California border.
two
Hashish hidden in a seashell, discovered in Baltimore on October 14, 2020. CBP
Much has changed in the business of illicit drug trafficking from the time of
El Chapo
to the present day, but the imagination of smugglers has remained active, as this photo of seashells from Nigeria with hidden hashish reveals .
[Biden to sign executive order to pardon people federally convicted of marijuana possession]
The image was taken by customs agents in Baltimore, Maryland, in October 2020.
3
Packages of marijuana hidden inside a dehumidifier, found at the Laredo, Texas port of entry on August 29, 2022. CBP
This image was made possible by Bruno, a CBP counter-narcotics dog in Cincinnati, Ohio, who alerted his handler to a familiar odor coming from a shipment of dehumidifiers in late August of this year.
Upon investigation, authorities found 413 pounds of marijuana hidden in vacuum-sealed bags inside these appliances.
The drug was destined for Great Britain and its value was estimated at more than one million dollars.
4
Methamphetamine in coffee bags, found in Memphis, Tennessee, on September 28, 2022. CBP
Methamphetamine has become one of the most in-demand substances in the United States.
More than 161,000 pounds (73 tons) have been seized this fiscal year alone, according to CBP data.
In September of this year, a group of smugglers tried to enter the country hidden in
bags of coffee
through an airport in Memphis, Tennessee.
Another group of traffickers had already tried to enter drugs hidden in coffee, as shown in this image of cocaine crystals mixed between the ground grains used to make the popular drink.
The image was taken in October 2015 at Miami International Airport, Florida.
5
Cocaine hidden inside a bag of coffee grounds, found in Miami on October 5, 2015. CBP
Customs authorities at the Otay Mesa, California port of entry found more than 100 pounds of fentanyl distributed in 46 packages of flour in July of this year.
Fentanyl
is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine
, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
6
Fentanyl pills inside a bag of flour, discovered at the Otay Mesa, California port of entry on August 14, 2022. CBP
This drug of characteristic light blue color has become one of the main concerns of the authorities and seems to be one of the favorites among the youngest users.
More than 90,000 people died in 2020 from overdoses, most of them after ingesting a mixture containing fentanyl, according to CDC data.
7
Fentanyl pills hidden inside tamales, found at the Nogales port of entry, on October 12, 2022. CBP
Tamales are one of the typical foods of Mexico and there are practically all flavors, but until now it was not known that they had been mixed with a deadly opioid such as fentanyl.
Such was the case discovered last week by CBP authorities in Nogales, Arizona, who described it as "a fairly novel approach."
They found more than 2,100 blue pills hidden in a cooler inside the food that is traditionally wrapped in corn husks.
8
Liquid methamphetamine stored in condoms hidden inside a pumpkin, found at the Eagle Pass port of entry, on October 12, 2022. CBP
The drug-trafficking potential of pumpkins has not been lost on smugglers.
Last week, customs agents at the port of entry in Eagle Pass, Texas, seized four units of this characteristic food that families use to make the macabre Halloween decorations.
Inside were 136 condoms filled with liquid methamphetamine.
9
Black bags containing methamphetamine hidden inside a spare tire, found in San Diego, California, on July 22, 2022. CBP
Cars are perhaps one of the favorite hiding places for traffickers.
The mythical corrido
Contrabando y treason
, by the Tigres del Norte, speaks of "tires full of bad grass."
A similar scene to the one described in the song was what CBP agents saw in San Diego, California, when they discovered a shipment of methamphetamine valued at more than a million dollars inside a spare tire and other parts of a vehicle.
10
A package containing fentanyl found inside a car battery in Temecula, California, on August 3, 2022.CBP
A 2018 blue Volkswagen Jetta was stopped on a California highway in early August of this year, just north of the Murrieta Border Patrol checkpoint.
Hidden in the car battery were three packets of fentanyl.
eleven
'Rainbow' fentanyl pills hidden in Lego blocks, found by New York City police, on October 5, 2022.NYPD
New York police and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents found some 15,000 colored pills of the so-called rainbow fentanyl inside a box of Lego toys that a woman was carrying in a black shopping bag.
Fentanyl in pills or small colored blocks is part of a new trend in the country that worries authorities about its potential to attract younger people, due to its false harmless appearance.
12
Fentanyl pills seized at Los Angeles International Airport, California, on October 19, 2022.AP
The discovery of 12,000 fentanyl pills this Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport occurred when a passenger tried to pass the checkpoint with several bags that apparently contained packages of chocolates and candy.
The man managed to escape but the authorities have already identified him and are investigating the case.
13
More than two pounds of methamphetamine found inside a guitar in Michoacán. National Guard
And a drug shipment that did not reach the United States (but that was its destination) surprised Mexican authorities in 2021 after it was found inside a musical instrument.
More than two pounds of methamphetamine were found hidden
inside a traditional guitar from Paracho
, Michoacán, at a parcel center in February of last year.
Authorities said it was destined for the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota.