smuggling

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The Cocaine Saved Them. Then It Got Them Busted

Suspected drug smugglers found clinging to bales in Pacific after boat overturns

(Newser) - They can thank their drug bundles for both saving their lives and possibly ruining them. ABC Australia reports that three men from Colombia were plucked out of the Pacific over the weekend after spending hours in shark-filled waters. The alleged drug-runners, who were said by authorities to have departed from...

CBP: Girl From India Dies in Desert on Way to US

Death took place in 'dangerous and austere location' in Arizona

(Newser) - The body of a 7-year-old girl believed to be from India was found this week in a remote part of the Arizona desert just over the border with Mexico, a death that a Border Patrol official is calling "senseless," reports the Daily Beast . Per a Customs and Border...

Punishment for Man Who Had 5K Leeches in Carry-On Bag

Ippolit Bodounov was first large-scale leech-smuggler ever busted by Canadian authorities

(Newser) - A Canadian man has been fined the equivalent of $11,102 for wildlife smuggling, which works out to around $2.30 for each of the 4,788 leeches he brought in his carry-on luggage on a flight from Russia to Toronto last year. Ippolit Bodounov, the first large-scale leech-smuggler ever...

Hundreds of Live Tarantulas Seized From 'Cookie' Boxes

They were shipped to airport in the Philippines

(Newser) - Philippine customs officials were astonished when they opened nicely gift-wrapped boxes of cookies and oatmeal flown in all the way from Poland and found a hair-raising contraband: hundreds of live tarantulas. Bureau of Customs personnel seized the 757 tarantulas at a mail exchange center near Manila's international airport Monday...

No, This Is Not Legit Carry-On Luggage

Russian busted trying to smuggle a drugged orangutan out of Bali in his luggage

(Newser) - In theory, Russian tourist Andrei Zhestkov's plan to smuggle an orangutan out of Bali was ... not great. In execution, it ended exactly as you might expect: With airport scanners somehow failing to miss the 2-year-old sleeping primate in his luggage, and Zhestkov facing smuggling charges that could net him...

Guy Abandons 1.5K Live Turtles at Airport

They were found in unclaimed suitcases

(Newser) - Customs officers at a Philippines airport got a surprise when they opened four abandoned suitcases: Inside were 1,529 live turtles and tortoises of assorted species, wrapped in duct tape, the BBC reports. They included rare and endangered species like star tortoises and sulcata tortoises. Officials estimate they could have...

Suspect in $4.3M Bank Theft Had Elaborate Getaway: DOJ

Extradited Alaska man drove, flew, cabbed it, and took a bus all the way to Mexico

(Newser) - Seven years after a bank in Alaska had more than $4 million lifted, the man suspected of stealing the money has been extradited back there—all the way from Mexico. A DOJ release reports that 33-year-old Gerardo "Gary" Adan Cazarez Valenzuela, who used to be the cash vault services...

7 Countries Join US on North Korea Mission

The plan: Stop anyone violating UN sanctions

(Newser) - Smugglers, watch out: Washington is forming an international coalition to better spot ships sneaking fuel into North Korea against UN sanctions, the Wall Street Journal reports. More than 50 people from the allied nations—including Japan, South Korea, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and a member from France—will be...

Man Who Smuggled Gold in Rectum Wins Economic Argument

Leston Lawrence thought he shouldn't have to pay back $190K

(Newser) - A Canadian man who smuggled six figures' worth of gold out of the country's mint in his rectum and ended up in prison as a result scored a final court win—one centered around market forces and gold prices. As previously reported, Leston Lawrence was found guilty in...

Flier Hid $30K in Gold in His Butt
Flier Hid $30K
in Gold in His Butt
Sep 26, 2017 7:33 AM CDT

Flier Hid $30K in Gold in His Butt

Sri Lankan man claimed he was involved in smuggling ring

(Newser) - A Sri Lankan man's "suspicious movements" at the airport in the capital Colombo led to the discovery of some $30,000 worth of gold stashed in his rectum, customs officials say. Officials noticed the 45-year-old "walking with difficulty and appearing to be in pain" as he waited...

Feds Seize King Cobras Hidden in Potato Chip Cans

Alleged smuggler could get 20 years

(Newser) - A man was arrested on federal smuggling charges Tuesday after customs officers intercepted a shipment with three live king cobras hidden inside potato chip canisters that were being mailed to his California home, US prosecutors say. Rodrigo Franco, 34, faces a felony count of illegally importing merchandise into the US,...

Driver of Deadly Suspected Smuggling in Custody
One More Victim Dies
From Sweltering Truck
UPDATED
Jul 24, 2017 12:17 AM CDT

One More Victim Dies From Sweltering Truck

Driver, in custody, faces federal and state charges

(Newser) - The driver of a tractor-trailer containing dozens trapped alongside eight dead bodies has been taken into custody. The driver faces federal and state charges in what is being investigated as a human trafficking incident, reports My San Antonio . Per the AP , one more victim has died at the hospital after...

Father, Son Allegedly Smuggled $17M of Sea Cucumbers to US

The charges shed light on the issue of sea cucumber smuggling

(Newser) - Charges against a father-son partnership for allegedly smuggling more than $17 million worth of sea cucumbers to the US and exporting them to Asia sheds light on a growing and lucrative illegal cross-border trade, the AP reports. David Mayorquin and his father, Ramon Torres Mayorquin, are accused of a scheme...

Man Guilty of Making Off With $165K of Gold in His Butt

Leston Lawrence inserted gold pucks into rectum, coincidentally named judge finds

(Newser) - Leston Lawrence set off the metal detectors at his employer, the Royal Canadian Mint, nearly 30 times in three months, but other workers could never find evidence of anything on him, the CBC notes. Wednesday, however, he was found guilty of smuggling out 22 gold pucks worth $165,000, and...

Man Tries to Smuggle Himself Inside His Own Suitcase

More impressive: He's 6 feet tall

(Newser) - Border guards in Switzerland received quite a shock Monday as they watched a full-grown man emerge from inside a normal suitcase. The AP reports the 21-year-old man from Eritrea was trying to smuggle himself into Switzerland aboard a train from Italy. Guards boarded the train to check passenger documents and...

20 Children Ditched by Smugglers Perish in Sahara

They were part of a group of 34 migrants

(Newser) - A group of nearly three dozen migrants, most of them kids, paid smugglers to whisk them out of Niger and Nigeria and to a new life to the north—but instead paid the ultimate price. The five men, nine women, and 20 minors were found dead Sunday in the Sahara,...

Alleged Smuggler Caught With 20 Puppies in Crate

The dogs will be put up for adoption

(Newser) - Authorities say a smuggling suspect was arrested after 23 dogs—including 20 puppies packed in a nearly airless crate—were seized from an SUV at the US-Mexico border. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the driver told officials at the San Ysidro border crossing on Saturday that he had picked up...

NASCAR Driver in Huge Tobacco-Smuggling Bust

Derek White faces 7 charges

(Newser) - Seven hundred Canadian and US officers were involved in almost 70 searches Wednesday that led to the largest tobbaco-smuggling bust in North American history, NBC Sports reports. Almost 60 people were arrested, including NASCAR driver/owner Derek White, who turned himself in Wednesday after hearing about a warrant out for his...

Man Allegedly Smuggled Live Birds in His Pants

Authorities say he had a few more in a fanny pack

(Newser) - We would have been concerned about birds' well-documented taste for worms, but to each their own. A traveler arriving from Cuba was caught trying to smuggle nine live birds—three of them in the "groin area" of his pants—Jan. 9 at Miami International Airport, according to US Customs...

The 6 Oddest Things Seized by Customs in 2015

Smugglers will put drugs into anything

(Newser) - Customs and Border Protection released its list of the 10 weirdest things it seized in 2015, and as ABC News reports, everything from bugs to drugs to hoverboards made the list in a testament to smugglers' ongoing battle between impressive creativity and astounding stupidity. Here are six of the oddest...

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