03/03/2010

News / CBP Officers in Buffalo Seize 18 Pounds of Ecstasy - Arrest Smuggler

Buffalo, N.Y. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Field Operations today announced the seizure of approximately 18 pounds of methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), better known as the club-drug “Ecstasy.” The seizure resulted in the arrest of a United States citizen.


On February 28, CBP officers encountered Miquel Latoya Smith, a 36-year-old United States citizen from Snellville, GA, as she applied for admission into the United States at the Peace Bridge border crossing in Buffalo, N.Y. Ms. Smith presented a United States passport as proof of citizenship and advised the CBP officer that she was returning after having visited family in the Toronto, Ontario area. CBP officers selected Ms. Smith for a secondary enforcement exam.

During the course of the inspection, CBP officers performed a physical exam of Ms. Smith’s vehicle, which resulted in the discovery of 13 wrapped bundles secreted in both rear quarter panels and the trunk area. The bundles contained 18 pounds of multi-colored tablets, which field tested positive for Ecstasy.


CBP officers seized a total of 25,167 tablets of Ecstasy. Ms. Smith was arrested on federal charges of importation and possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. She was turned over to agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further investigation and prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.


The Ecstasy seized by CBP has a street value of approximately $500,000. The Port of Buffalo has seized over $2 million in Ecstasy in just over a week. Last Friday, officers seized 47 pounds of the drug in a passenger vehicle at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/local/03012010_6.xml

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