US officials in Louisville city seized over 2,000 pounds of illicit drugs in January

The law enforcement officers in the US city of Louisville seized nearly 300 shipments containing over 2,000 pounds of illicit drugs that arrived from many countries, including India, in January, according to an official statement.

The statement issued by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Tuesday said the officers seized a total of 2,079 pounds (943 kgs) of illicit drugs from 282 shipments in Louisville in the US state of Kentucky.

''CBP officers seized 282 shipments in January that contained various drugs. The narcotics arrived from India, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Mexico and Canada,” it said.

The agency said it seized 1,113 pounds of Marijuana, 300 pounds of Methamphetamine, 179 pounds of drug precursors, 137 pounds of Khat, 108 pounds of scheduled narcotics, 103 pounds of cocaine, 75 pounds of Ketamine, and 64 pounds of steroids.

When contacted by PTI for more details on the narcotics that arrived from India, a US Customs and Border Protection Public Affairs official from the Chicago Field Office said he did not have a breakdown of the narcotics that had come from India.

The official added that the seizures occurred at the Express Consignment facility in Louisville, which is a mail facility. These packages were seized as they were transiting through the mail facility.

From October to December 2021, officers seized a total of 207 pounds of Fentanyl at the Port of Louisville. These seizures made Louisville the number one ranked location for Fentanyl seizures for Air Cargo and Express Consignment Operations hubs and the number four for all Modes of Transport, CBP said.

“The seizure of these shipments is a testament to the outstanding job our CBP officers do every day. Our officers are out there stopping these illegal substances from reaching the public and endangering lives,” Director, Field Operations-Chicago LaFonda Sutton-Burke, said.

The federal law enforcement agency said drug smugglers are trying to find “interesting'' ways to hide their narcotics when they ship them.

Officers have found drugs in toys, sandals, clothing, metal cylinders and corsets.

“These seizures are the dangers our officers see every night and it doesn’t stop,” said Thomas Mahn, Port Director-Louisville, adding that while criminals keep trying different ways to sneak their contraband in, CBP officers do a “better job of finding it and stopping it in its tracks.” CBP officers screen international travelers and cargo, and search for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, US businesses, and the nation’s safety and economic vitality.

CBP seized an average of 4,732 pounds of dangerous drugs every day across the United States last year.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)