| Vinegar smell alerts inspectors
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Housekeeping magazines periodically provide readers with cleaning tips on using vinegar to eliminate odors and assure them that the strong smell eventually disappears and leaves nothing behind. Some ill-informed drug smugglers believe that the vinegar can also be used to fool U.S. Customs inspectors. On July 16, a woman from Austin, Tex., was trying to enter the United States from Mexico in a taxi at the Gateway to the Americas Bridge in Laredo. When Customs inspectors noticed the woman, who reeked of vinegar, they took action. "The woman said she was on vacation in Mexico for three days and had nothing to declare," says Customs Inspector Saul Olivan. "We became suspicious because she didn't have any luggage and because she smelled of vinegar."In secondary inspection, Customs Inspector Chris Lobdell took the woman's negative declaration and did a name query in the database. During this time, Senior Inspector Wilford Collins, Jr. noticed that the two T-shirts in the woman's shopping bag had a strong, unpleasant smell.The inspectors tested the T-shirts and found no traces of heroin, cocaine, or methampehtamine. But the inspectors knew something wasn't right. Canine Enforcement Officer Araceli Muñoz's canine, Trixie, reacted to the shoes.The inspectors found about a half-pound of heroin in each shoe. |
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