PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — A pair of drug smuggling attempts were recently thwarted less than 24 hours apart by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Philadelphia.
The first interception occurred Wednesday when a shipment manifested as chicken vegetable soup began oozing a purple liquid. Further investigation revealed the shipment actually contained 12 liters of liquid ecstasy en route from the Netherlands to an address in Miami, Florida, the agency stated in a news release.
Specifically, officers used an elemental isotope analysis tool and identified the cans’ contents as MDMA hydrochloride, a synthetic commonly known as ecstasy. The shipment contained slightly more than 24 pounds of the liquid MDMA, the agency stated in a news release.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, MDMA, also known as molly, is categorized as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. It is often “abused as a party drug and is sometimes mixed with other, more dangerous chemicals, such as methamphetamine or ketamine” that could lead to accidental overdoses, the DEA stated.
“Crooked consumers continue to purchase dangerous drugs and controlled substances from unscrupulous international vendors, chemicals that consist of unverified ingredients that could potentially harm or kill our nation’s citizens. Customs and Border Protection officers remain steadfast in our commitment to searching through the proverbial haystack to intercept the needle of illicit shipments,” Joseph Martella, CBP’s Area Port Director in Philadelphia, said in a prepared statement.
Meanwhile, CBP officers in Philadelphia intercepted an estimated 10,000 tablets of Tramadol on Thursday, concealed inside snack cakes.
According to the agency, a parcel manifested as garments en route from London to an address in Charleston, West Virginia, was determined to contain the Schedule IV controlled substance tablets hidden inside two packaged food containers labeled as sweets from India.
“Instead of candies, officers discovered two sticky cakes that concealed aluminum foil pouches that contained 1,000 combined blister packs of Tramadol 100 mg pills,” the agency stated.
According to the DEA, tramadol hydrochloride is a synthetic morphine-like opioid, prescribed to treat moderate to severe pain in patients but often abused by narcotics addicts, chronic pain patients and health professionals.
“Intercepting unprescribed pharmaceuticals being smuggled to the United States remains a serious public health concern and a Customs and Border Protection enforcement priority,” said Martella said in a prepared statement, adding, “Consumers should be wary of any medicines that they purchase from an overseas vendor. The pills could be counterfeit pharmaceuticals manufactured with unknown and potentially dangerous ingredients that could pose very real and very serious health threats to consumers.”
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