Over $6 million worth of marijuana was seized from two commercial trucks that were attempting to cross the U.S. border from Canada with shipping manifests claiming an especially mundane cargo: paper.
The seizures happened within a day of each other near Buffalo, New York, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement on Friday. The drivers in both cases are under investigation, CBP spokesperson Mike Niezgoda told FreightWaves in an email, declining to provide further details.
The most recent seizure happened Wednesday during an inspection of a tractor-trailer at the Lewiston Bridge border crossing. CBP officers found 1,275 packages of marijuana in the trailer, CBP said.
It came a day after CBP officers discovered 1,663 pounds of marijuana during an inspection of a tractor-trailer at the Peace Bridge crossing.
It was unclear if the drivers were arrested or released pending an investigation.
CBP officials have reported a record level of marijuana seizures from commercial trucks at Buffalo and Detroit ports of entry since the U.S.-Canada border closed for non-essential travel in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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