see also: in December 2008:   CBP Lists Top 10 Enforcement Events of 2008   CBP Seizes $200K in Undeclared Currency; Arrest 1 at Texas Port   Marfa Sector Agents Apprehend Murder Suspect   San Ysidro Port Modernization Deployment Temporarily Reduces Lanes   Border Patrol Agents Assist in Locating Distressed Individual   CBP Officers Stop Man at Michigan Border Crossing Wanted for Aggravated Sexual Assault   Holiday Surprise; CBP Unwraps 312 Pounds of Khat in December ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Memphis, Tenn. — Most electronic devices come with a warning about electric shock and safe use around water, but have you ever seen one warning you about lung edema, respiratory difficulties, coma or cardiac collapse? This might well have been the case had you been the recipient of an electric pencil sharpener discovered by U. S. Customs and Border Protection on October 30 at an air cargo facility in Memphis, Tenn.

Definitely not found in the average office, this particular pencil sharpener contained 8.6 ounces of opium with a street value of approximately $15,000. The package examined by a CBP officer was manifested as “pencil sharpener,” but detailed examination of the package revealed a ball of brown tar-like substances concealed inside the device. A sample of the material was sent to the CBP lab for analysis, resulting in confirmation that it contained codeine, morphine, thebaine, noscapine, and papaverine which are components of raw opium, a controlled substance.

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“While there are legitimate uses for these substances, unauthorized or chronic consumption of these opiates can be highly addictive and continued misuse can produce harmful results,” said CBP Director Field Operations for the New Orleans Field Office Robert C. Gomez. “The discovery of this potentially lethal ‘cocktail’ is yet another illustration of how CBP works every single day to protect the people of this country, in this case, from illegal narcotics,” Mr. Gomez added.

CBP’s responsibility at consignment facilities is to process, examine and release all of the parcels that arrive from a foreign point of origin. At the Memphis facility, approximately 65,000 international shipments are reviewed nightly, and those needing further scrutiny are examined.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.