October 26, 09

NEWS / San Francisco CBP Officers Seize Opium Hidden in Drums

San Francisco - U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized several pounds of opium on Tuesday at a package delivery facility in Oakland, Calif.


CBP officers conducting examinations of international cargo observed anomalies in two packages arriving from Thailand. Opium, wrapped in plastic and concealed inside false walls of drums, was found in a shipment destined for Northern California. More than 22 pounds (approximately 10,261 grams) of opium was discovered.

Opium, derived from poppy plant secretions, is a Schedule II narcotic, which contains morphine. The morphine is extracted from the opium and used to produce heroin. Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug, and its use is a serious problem in America. It is both the most abused and most rapidly acting of the opiates.


Assistant Director of Field Operation for San Francisco Leticia Romero said, “In addition to our primary role of preventing terrorists and terrorism-related articles from entering the U.S., CBP takes active measures to interdict narcotics at the gateways to our country.”

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/10232009_3.xml