10K Xanax Pills Found In Yarn Shipment Bound For BK: Customs Officals

PHILADELPHIA — Customs and Border Protection officers in Philadelphia announced the seizure of 10,000 Xanax/Alprazolam pills hidden in a shipment of yarn spools from Europe that were being sent to Brooklyn.

Authorities seized the shipments last Friday.

Officers on April 26 were alerted by the organization's trade enforcement experts at the Baltimore Field Office, who reviewed incoming cargo manifests and suspected that something may be amiss with a shipment from the Netherlands that was heading to Brooklyn.

Customs officers in Philadelphia found the shipment on the same day while inspecting express consignment parcels that arrived from overseas.

Officers then x-rayed the shipment, proceeded to open it and found a dozen spools of yarn. Once they unraveled the yarn, they found stacks of 10-pill blister packs taped to the inner spool., authorities said.

In total, 1,006 blister packs — about 10,000 pills — of 1 milligram dose Alprazolam pills were found and seized. Officials said the pills have a street value of about $30,000.

Alprazolam, of which Xanax is a known brand name, is a scheduled IV controlled substance and a commonly prescribed psychotropic medication to manage panic and anxiety disorders.

Alprazolam is misused as a recreational drug, and when combined with other substances, such as alcohol, can slow breathing and possibly lead to death.

No arrests have been made and authorities are investigating the shipment.