72 pounds of Hashish found on travelers at O’Hare

Chicago CBP officers find a lot of drugs on two passengers

CHICAGO– On July 24, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport detained two U.S. Citizens on their way to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The couple arrived from Los Angeles, California and were catching their connecting flight at O’Hare. Both were selected for outbound Passenger Enforcement Rover Team enforcement exams, a normal CBP practice to intercept drug smuggling. Both individuals checked bags were pulled for inspection and officers found heavy objects wrapped in white t-shirts inside large vacuum-sealed bags. Before they could board their connecting flight, CBP officers asked for their passport for identification and their receipt for any check baggage. When they produced the tickets for the inspected bags, officers detained them to do a more thorough search of their baggage.

Once the woman stated she owned and packed the suitcase, officers inspected the item and found a black vacuum-sealed bag containing a brick-sized brownish tar substance, which tested positive for marijuana hashish, in total 37 pounds.

The man, who also stated he owned and packed his suitcase had a variety of items in his possession. Inside his carry-on bag was a bag containing a green, leafy substance. Also found in the bag were two small clear bags with a white powdery substance, and another small clear bag containing a green pill and red pill. Inside his checked luggage were two large vacuum-sealed bags. In each bag there were objects wrapped in white T-shirts. Inside the shirts were black vacuum-sealed bags. An inspection of a black vacuum-sealed bag contained a brick-sized brownish tar substance, like what was found in the woman’s checked bag.

The two small clear bags found in his carry-on bags tested positive for Cocaine Hydrochloride and the other tested positive for Ketamine Hydrochloride. The small bag with the red and green pills were positive for Ecstasy. From the man’s bag, officers seized a total of 35 pounds of marijuana hashish, 28 grams of marijuana, 1.42 grams of ecstasy, .9 grams of ketamine, and .8 grams of cocaine.

“These individuals believed they were going to easily slip by CBP’s watchful eye – they were wrong,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director, Field Operations, Chicago Field Office. “Unfortunately, this is a method of smuggling we continue to encounter with narcotic traffickers and there are consequences for their actions.”

Last month, CBP officers and agents seized 60,470 pounds of dangerous drugs at and between our nation’s air, sea, and land ports of entry. See CBP’s enforcement stats to see what other dangerous drugs CBP is encountering at our nation’s ports of entries and our borders.

CBP's border security mission is led at our nation’s Ports of Entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.