Customs officers seize $70K worth of cocaine hidden in insulated thermal cups

PHILADELPHIA — Customs officials said that they have “interrupted a cool trend” of smugglers attempting to bring cocaine into the country through thermal cups.

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According to a news release, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said that four shipments from Jamaica were seized last month. The shipments contained cocaine that was secreted inside the insulated walls of the thermal cups.

Customs officials said each shipment contained four insulated cups that were packed with tea bags, bagged spices or vaporizing ointment, according to the news release. Each shipment had approximately 250 to 260 grams of cocaine, which had a total weight of 2 1/2 pounds.

The estimated street value of the cocaine is $70,000, customs officials said.

Two of the shipments were seized in Philadelphia, on March 10 and March 16. One shipment was intercepted in Cincinnati on March 11, and the other shipment was confiscated in New York City on March 15.

“These cocaine seizures perfectly illustrate how Customs and Border Protection officers across the country routinely collaborate to intercept shipments of dangerous drugs and force traffickers to work hard to change concealment tactics and supply routes,” Joseph Martella, CBP’s area port director in Philadelphia, said in a statement. “Our communities expect us to stand a vigilant watch along our nation’s borders against the repeated smuggling attempts by drug trafficking organizations, and CBP vows to do just that.”

An investigation is ongoing, the CBP said.

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