Customs Officials Seize A Ton Of Marijuana Disguised As Carrots

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When it comes to trying to sneak drugs into the country, ne’er-do-wells keep coming up with creative ways to disguise their illicit goods, keeping law enforcement on their toes. Someone must’ve hired Bugs Bunny to do some sleuthing in Texas, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents discovered a shipment of carrots that included a few thousand orange things that weren’t of the vegetable variety.

Officials say they found a ton of marijuana packed into 2,800 long, orange packages that were hidden inside a commercial shipment of fresh carrots, reports CBS DFW, with a street value of about $500,000.

The subterfuge was uncovered when agents stopped a tractor-trailer at the Pharr International Bridge along the Texas-Mexico border near the Gulf of Mexico.

“Once again, drug smuggling organizations have demonstrated their creativity in attempting to smuggle large quantities of narcotics across the U.S./Mexico border,” said Port Director Efrain Solis Jr., Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry. “Our officers are always ready to meet those challenges and remain vigilant towards any type of illicit activities.”

It’s unclear who came up with the carrot idea, but it’s not the first time we’ve seen drugs disguised as consumer products coming into the country: customs officials in Miami had a problem with cocaine and heroin hidden in flower shipments, and law enforcement agents once found $250,000 worth of meth inside Snickers bar wrappers.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist