Customs Officers Find Pot Luck At Miami International

MIAMI, FL — A "giant size" box of Fruit Loops, two "giant size" boxes of Corn Flakes and a box of Corn Pops weren't what they seemed earlier this month at Miami International Airport. Neither were the cans of crackers or the iced tea container.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said the packages they discovered on May 8 were filled with six pounds of marijuana.

A few days later customs officers discovered $48,000 in cash and two high-powered firearms in three more shipments over a one-week period.

"Officers had a busy week seizing guns, drugs and money being exported from the United States through Miami International Airport," according to the agency's Zachary Mann.

Mann said all four shipments came from the southeast United States and were being sent to Guyana and Costa Rica when they were intercepted.

The weapons included an M4 rifle and a Tech 9 pistol and ammunition magazine. "The weapons were manifested as toys and destined for Guyana," Mann said.

The cash was discovered on May 15 hidden among magazines and parcels. That shipment was headed to Costa Rica.

“The outbound cargo environment in Miami is the gateway to the Caribbean and South America, in which criminal enterprises attempt to use transportation routes traffic drugs, guns and money,” CBP Port Director Christopher D. Matson said. “CBP’s Outbound Enforcement Team continues to conduct outbound sweeps of cargo resulting in significant seizures that disrupt dangerous criminal networks.”