Crime

Vancouver police say they've run out of leads in their investigation into who set traps in a community garden in Mount Pleasant last week. The traps included trip wires, a board with nails sticking up and fish hooks hung at eye level.

Fraud with regard to fruit (and produce in general) is commonly related to labeling claims about production practices, production location or brand names. In some parts of the world, unapproved substances may be used to speed or enhance ripening or to make fruits look more visually appealing. Still,…

In Ireland, Gardaí have seized 50 kilos worth of cocaine -with an estimated street value of €3.5 million- following a major surveillance operation. The truck driver, believed to be from the south-east of the country, was being questioned last weekend at a north Dublin garda station. The drugs haul was…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility discovered $960,500 worth of alleged cocaine concealed within a commercial shipment of produce arriving from Mexico. “Our top priority is to keep our country and the people that live in…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility thwarted a smuggling attempt of alleged cocaine and methamphetamine worth $4 million in a commercial shipment of fresh produce arriving from Mexico. 

“Tenacity is the key in keeping dangerous drugs from crossing our borders,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Port of Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas. CBP officers are committed to upholding CBP’s ongoing border security mission, serving as the guardians of our country’s borders.”

On Sep. 22, 2020, a 28-year-old truck driver, a Mexican citizen arrived from Mexico at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo facility driving a tractor/trailer that contained a commercial shipment of produce. A CBP officer referred the conveyance for a secondary examination and after utilizing all available tools and resources, including a canine team, officers discovered packages of suspected narcotics hidden within the trailer floor. CBP OFO removed and seized 200 packages weighing 250 pounds of alleged cocaine and 61 packages weighing 105.82 pounds of alleged methamphetamine.

CBP OFO seized all the narcotics and the tractor/trailer and arrested the driver. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations took custody of the men while they continue with the investigations.

Two men have been arrested after around a ton of cocaine concealed within a load of fruit was seized Dover. The discovery was made in the early hours of yesterday morning by specialist Border Force search teams. The cocaine, with a street value of approximately £100m has been found hidden in a shipment…

Migrant workers pick Chardonnay grapes during the harvest at Hambledon Vineyard on October 3, 2018 in Hambledon, United Kingdom. Around 80 predominantly Eastern European workers have been brought in at Hambledon to pick a bumper crop of 250 tonnes of grapes this season, following a long and warm summer. As Brexit looms there is uncertainty for the British wine industry with much of the manufacturing equipment and labour currently imported from other European countries. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

U.S. Customs & Border Protection Office of Field Operations at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility intercepted $2.36 million worth of alleged methamphetamine and heroin in a commercial shipment of fresh produce arriving from Mexico.

“This interception of dangerous drugs truly exemplifies the teamwork of our officers working at our cargo facility,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, port of Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas. “CBP continues to analyze smuggling methods and utilize intelligence, experience and technology to keep our border communities safe and secure.”

On Sep. 16, 2020, at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo facility, a CBP officer referred a tractor/trailer hauling a commercial shipment of fresh produce for further inspection. The secondary examination included the assistance of a (canine team) and subsequently officers discovered suspected narcotics hidden within the shipment. Officers removed 162 packages of alleged methamphetamine weighing 85.63 pounds and 30 packages of alleged heroin weighing 16.22 pounds. These drugs are valued at $1.7 million and $649,000, respectively.

U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Office of Field Operations at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility intercepted a load of hard narcotics consisting of alleged methamphetamine and heroin that was concealed within a commercial shipment of produce arriving from Mexico. The estimated street value of the seizure is $6.67 million.

“Significant narcotics interdiction enforcement actions like these have direct and immediate impact on the smuggling organizations who operate in our area,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, port of Hidalgo/Pharr/ Anzalduas. “CBP Field Operations maintains a robust enforcement posture while continuing to facilitate and process legitimate trade and travel, which is a delicate balance.”

On Sep. 12, 2020, a tractor/trailer hauling a commercial shipment of avocados arrived at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo facility and a CBP officer referred the conveyance for further inspection, which included the utilization of non-intrusive imaging equipment. The thorough secondary examination resulted in officers discovering suspected narcotics hidden within the trailer. Officers removed 48 packages of alleged methamphetamine weighing 326 pounds and one package of alleged heroin weighing 2.41 pounds.

More than £4 million worth of cocaine was found on freight flights from Kingston, Jamaica. According to the Home Office, all drugs were confiscated by Border Force officials in a series of seizures in August. “Some 22kg of cocaine was seized on 11 August, estimated to be worth £1.8 million. A further…

This weekend, customs officers at the port of Rotterdam discovered a total of 2,100 kilograms of cocaine hidden in two fruit shipments from Ecuador and Costa Rica. The drugs had a total street value of over 157 million euros, the Public Prosecution Service said. The first batch of 1,100 kilograms of…

U.S. Customs & Border Protection officers intercepted almost 15,000 pounds of marijuana in what was supposed to be a shipment of limes. The narcotics have an estimated street value of almost $60 million.

At the Otay Mesa cargo crossing, CBP officers sent a tractor-trailer to the dock for further inspection after discovering anomalies during a scan by X-ray imaging system.  CBP officers opened the boxes and found large, tape-wrapped packages inside the many boxes manifested as limes. Officers found 622 large, tape-wrapped packages inside the boxes, containing 14,880 pounds of marijuana.  The narcotics have an estimated street value of almost $60 million.

CBP officers also intercepted 668 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a cactus shipment. CBP officers searched inside the crates of cactus pads (which are often used in nopales, or prickly pear, dishes and drinks) and found packages, wrapped with green tape, hidden inside among the pads.

“International drug trafficking organizations will use whatever means they can think of to try and move their illicit shipments into the U.S.,” said Pete Flores, director of field operations for CBP in San Diego. “CBP officers dedicate their careers to protecting our country by securing the border.  For them, these unusual seizures are all in a day’s work.”

In total, officers found 590 packages. The narcotics have an estimated street value of over $1.5 million.

Anti-drug officials in Santa Maria, Colombia, have seized 1,100 kilograms of cocaine bound for Antwerp on Sunday. According to UN Container Control Program coordinator Bob Van den Berghe, the drugs were packed in cases of bananas. In 2020, port control units with the support of the UN program have…

U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Office of Field Operations officers at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility hit it out of the park again with the seizure of another huge load of alleged methamphetamine worth $19.8 million discovered in a commercial produce shipment arriving from Mexico.

“This is another significant strike our officers have made on the methamphetamine smuggling industry,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, port of Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas. “Large seizures like this one underscore the severity of the drug threat and show that our officers remain fiercely dedicated to upholding our border security mission.”

On Aug. 7, a 29-year-old man, a Mexican citizen from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico arrived at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo facility driving a tractor-trailer containing a commercial shipment of produce. A secondary inspection of the conveyance resulted in CBP officers discovering 521 packages of alleged methamphetamine weighing 992 pounds concealed within the floor of the trailer.

CBP OFO seized the narcotics, the tractor-trailer and arrested the driver. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations continue with the investigation.

Portugal’s National Unit to Combat Narcotics Trafficking has stated that “in recent days, it has launched an operation to combat international drug trafficking, aiming at the seizure of a high quantity of cocaine”. It was within the scope of this operation, which had the support of the Tax and Customs…

U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Office of Field Operations at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility discovered $16.1 million worth of alleged methamphetamine within a commercial trailer hauling a shipment of fresh broccoli.

“This is a substantial amount of hard narcotics that our officers have detected and seized from drug trafficking organizations attempting to smuggle these drugs across our border,” said Carlos Rodriguez, port director, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry. “By preventing this drug load from reaching the U.S., CBP advances its border security mission, protecting our citizens and communities.”

On Aug. 3, 2020, a 51-year-old male Mexican citizen arrived at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo facility driving a tractor/trailer that contained a commercial shipment of fresh produce. A CBP officer referred the shipment for further inspection, which included a non-intrusive imaging system inspection that allowed the officers to discover packages of suspected narcotics concealed within the trailer. The inspection continued into the following day when ultimately officers removed 1,561 packages of alleged methamphetamine that weighed 804.69 pounds.

In Singapore, five importers were fined a total of $28,000 for bringing in food products that did not conform to import permit requirements. This was made clear by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in a statement on Wednesday. The agency said that its officers had detected 2,565 kg of undeclared and…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized a load of 614 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a load of green onions from Mexico. Officials estimated the drug shipment to be worth approximately $1.4 million.

Malaysia has discovered 110 containers of illegally dumped toxic waste in what authorities are calling "the biggest finding of its kind" in the country's history, according to state media Bernama.

Around half of Brazil's beef exports and almost a quarter of soy exports to the European Union could be linked to illegal deforestation in two of the country's most ecologically important regions, according to a new study, which could have serious consequences for international trade agreements and efforts to combat the climate crisis.

Agents from the US Customs and Border Patrol discovered $30.5 million worth of methamphetamine hidden inside a shipment of fresh onions from Mexico. Officials working at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge made the discovery on July 9. A Mexican citizen arrived at the bridge hauling a tractor-trailer…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility intercepted $3,704,000 worth of alleged methamphetamine that was hidden within a commercial shipment of fresh produce. “Our officers at the cargo facility are committed to upholding our…

Narcis-Bogdan Stoica from Neamt County in Romania tried to use a fake fruit and vegetable business as a cover for trafficking 15 kilos of Class A drugs into Kent, the United Kingdom. At Canterbury Crown Court, on Thursday, he pleading guilty to attempting to import the drugs which had a potential street…

Authorities in the Netherlands have discovered an apparent torture site hidden inside shipping containers, which were lined with sound-proofing material and filled with assumed torture devices, the country's National Prosecutor's Office has said.

Authorities working out of Amsterdam and The Hague managed to seize a shipment of 780 kilograms of cocaine, hidden in a container loaded with pineapples from Costa Rica. The drugs had a street value of over 58 million euros. The packages of cocaine were found inside a cooling and storage company in…

Illegally cultivated grow farms in California and Washington state are operated by Chinese nationals, according to a report from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).