U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Cincinnati found four pounds of marijuana hidden inside disinfecting wipes canisters and other cleaning products on May 6.
The contraband was concealed in a shipment from Canada that was headed to a doctor in Barbados, according to a customs and border protection press release.
Officers became suspicious of the shipment after a drug-detecting dog alerted to the cleaning products and they saw anomalies in X-rays of the goods.
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The release said an increasing number of people are purchasing cleaning products online because of the COVID-19 outbreak, and smugglers are using the pandemic to conceal nefarious activities.
“The dedication and vigilance of our officers at our express consignment facilities continues to prevent a substantial amount of drugs from reaching their destination,” Richard Gillespie, Cincinnati port director for customs and border protection, said.
“This is another excellent example of what U.S. Customs and Border Protection does each and every day.”
Customs and border protection officers seized an average of 3,707 pounds of illicit narcotics every day in the United States in 2019, the release said.
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