see also: in October 2007 News Releases:   Cocaine Smuggler Tries To Trick El Paso CBP Officers by Hiding Drugs in Car Body   Border Patrol Agents in Texas Seize Marijuana Worth $1 Million Hidden Under Watermelons   Fingerprint Check Allows Border Patrol to Arrest Murder Suspect   Border Patrol Texas Task Force Seizes 500 Pounds of Marijuana   Tecate, Calif. Cargo Processing Port to Resume Operations Wednesday Morning   CBP at Newark Airport Discovers Man with Fraudulent Documents, False Claim to U.S. Citizenship ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Louisville, Ky., — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at mail delivery hub in Louisville, Ky. yesterday discovered and seized 154 grams of opium and 54 kilograms of marijuana in two separate shipments.

The opium was discovered in a shipment described as a pencil sharpener coming from Canada and destined to Suwanee, Ga. The shipment was selected for an intensive exam and X-rayed, which revealed an anomaly inside the pencil sharpener. Disassembly of the item revealed a plastic wrapped bundle containing a dark brown tar-like substance that subsequently field tested positive for 154 grams of opium, with a value of $51.

On the same night an eight box shipment described as cement statuettes but more closely resembling concrete blocks shipped from Mexico destined to Martindale, Texas was also selected for an extensive exam by CBP Officers. X-ray revealed bale-shaped items inside the hollow center of the statues.

CBP officers utilizing a hammer and chisel broke apart one of the statues revealing three plastic-wrapped bundles that field tested positive for marijuana. The statues turned out to be made of plaster, not concrete, and each one contained 6.80 kilograms of marijuana for a total of 54 kilograms.

David Murphy, CBP’s director of field operations, said, “I am extremely pleased with the job that CBP officers carry out on a day-to-day basis. It is apparent that they are willing to go that extra mile to examine and ultimately discover narcotics or contraband in many different types of concealment methods.”

The overnight mail hub located in Louisville is one of the busiest express consignment facilities in the United States.

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 the 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.