Philadelphia Customs and Border Protection officers find drugs in kid’s game

PHILADELPHIA (WPHL) —  U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Philadelphia found cocaine and methamphetamine hiding inside a children’s game, the federal agency announced Thursday.

On July 30, CBP officers examined the package being shipped to London labeled “boardgame.” Inside a box for the “5 Second Rule, Jr.” and under a bag of cat food, officers discovered a concealed zip-locked bag and a vacuum-sealed bag.

Upon further inspection, the zip-lock bag contained 515 grams of a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine. The vacuum-sealed bag contained 186.9 grams of pink pills that field-tested positive for methamphetamine.

According to the federal agency, the package was being shipped from Atlanta back to London after being posted as return to sender. CBP said packages can be returned to the sender if it was undeliverable to the Atlanta address due to an incorrect or nonexistent address, or if it was not accepted by the address resident.

Officials noted that drug trafficking organizations can give the illusion of packages being misaddressed by swapping the package’s contents, then posting it return to sender.

“This seizure of dangerous drugs illustrates how Customs and Border Protection officers expertly leverage our export enforcement mission to combat drug trafficking organizations,” said Cleatus P. Hunt, Jr., Area Port Director for CBP’s Area Port of Philadelphia. “CBP officers remain committed to searching for and seizing similar export and import shipments to deprive criminal organizations of their poisonous products or illicit revenue.”

Customs and Border Patrol officers seized the narcotics and continue to investigate.