On May 29, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Baltimore cracked open a shipping container bound for Liverpool, England, and found something a lot more pungent than cargo paperwork. Inside were 238 boxes of vacuum-sealed marijuana, weighing about 4,815 kilograms, roughly 10,615 pounds. Officials pegged the haul at an estimated U.S. street value of $24 million and said the same load could have fetched nearly $48 million in European markets. The discovery came after Letti, a two-year-old CBP narcotics detector dog, alerted during a container inspection at the Port of Baltimore.
Adam Rottman, CBP’s Area Port Director in Baltimore, did not mince words, calling it "a recklessly brazen attempt to smuggle over five tons" in a statement to FOX45 Baltimore. Officials told FOX45 that no arrests have been made and that Homeland Security Investigations special agents are still digging into who was behind the shipment.
According to CBS Baltimore, CBP officers say transnational criminal organizations have increasingly tried to move high-value cannabis to Europe using kilo-sized parcels, express air delivery, and concealed passenger baggage. CBS Baltimore also noted that high-quality cannabis can command two to three times the price in European markets compared with U.S. street values, which helps explain why smugglers keep taking big swings.
How the Load Was Found
The shipment was initially flagged during a routine container inspection when Letti alerted officers. When CBP opened the consignment, they found 238 boxes packed with vacuum-sealed bags of cannabis, according to CBP images and officials. FOX45 Baltimore reports that agency spokespeople did not immediately identify the shipper or the terminal where officers inspected the container.
Investigation and Legal Notes
Federal law prohibits exporting marijuana or transporting it across state lines, and such offenses are typically prosecuted in federal court, CBS Baltimore reports. Authorities are now reviewing the shipment and its chain of custody as they decide whether to bring charges.
The Port of Baltimore handles huge volumes of overseas cargo, and CBP says container inspections are one of the last chances to stop illicit exports before they leave U.S. ports. For background on how officers work that beat, see CBP's Area Port of Baltimore. This massive haul is the latest in a string of outbound interdictions in the region, from luggage stings to smaller cargo cases, including the apparel-hidden case reported last year, a 200-pound seizure.
