PHILADELPHIA, PA — Federal officers in Philadelphia intercepted nearly 500 pounds of marijuana valued at $2.4 million that was being shipped overseas, exposing what authorities say may be a shifting tactic by drug trafficking organizations moving bulk loads through containerized cargo.
Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered the shipment on January 6 during a routine export inspection of a container manifested as clothing. The cargo, shipped from Decatur, Georgia, was bound for an address in Oxford, England.
The container held 80 boxes. When officers opened one, they found marijuana sealed inside vacuum-packed bags. A full inspection revealed that seven of the boxes contained illicit drugs.
In total, officers counted 405 vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana weighing a combined 218 kilograms, or about 481 pounds. Many of the packages were labeled with distinctive names believed to reference different marijuana strains, including Runtzberry, Joker Candy, Galactic Gas, Mega Cherries, and Blue Zooties.
Authorities estimated the marijuana’s street value at $2.4 million in the United States, noting that high-potency cannabis can command two to three times that amount in European markets.
CBP seized the entire shipment. No arrests were announced.
Cleatus P. Hunt Jr., CBP’s area port director for the Philadelphia port, said the size of the seizure stood out amid routine inspections and may signal a change in smuggling strategies.
He said large marijuana shipments in containerized cargo have become increasingly rare, adding that intercepting bulk loads is one of the most effective ways to disrupt transnational criminal organizations by stripping them of profits.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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