170 Pounds Of Weed Seized At Delco Shipping Warehouse Monday: Customs

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — United States Customs and Border Protection officers Monday seized a total of 170 pounds of marijuana at a Delaware County warehouse, authorities said.

According to federal officials, the discovery was made while officers were examining export parcels at an international shipping service facility.

Officers collected 35 parcels that contained marijuana.

The parcels were shipped from multiple addresses in California and destined to multiple addresses in the United Kingdom.

Customs officials said the marijuana weighed a combined 77.4 kilograms, or 170 pounds and 10 ounces. It has a street value of about $800,000 in Philadelphia, and, depending on potency, could be worth two or three times that in London.

"Though medical and recreational use of marijuana is being decriminalized in some U.S. states, marijuana possession and bulk smuggling remain illegal under federal law, and so Customs and Border Protection officers will continue to seize it when we encounter it," Cleatus Hunt, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Philadelphia, said. "This is an unprecedented number of export marijuana parcels that we’ve seen, but they are also parcels that London consumers won’t see."

Federal law prohibits transporting marijuana across state lines or exporting it from the United States.

However, CBP is observing a continuing trend of United States-based growers, retailers, and criminal organizations shipping or transporting marijuana to Europe and Africa where high-quality weed can fetch prices many times higher than in the U.S.

In October, customs seized 114 pounds of marijuana from two women traveling from Philadelphia to London.

CBP officers usually see the marijuana being exported in smaller parcels as in this seizure, but occasionally officers encounter travelers carrying marijuana-stuffed suitcases.