Almost 1,000 Pounds of Weed Seized at New York

On Thursday, January 21st officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized almost 1/2 ton of weed at the US / Candian border in Lewiston, NY.

According to reporting from the Buffalo News, customs agents discovered the marijuana while searching an eighteen-wheeler that stopped for a routine border inspection at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.

Inside the tractor-trailer, the agents focused on a pallet of items that were labeled phone accessories. In that particular shipment, there were 840 vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana. In total, the weed weighed 940 pounds and is estimated to have a street value of almost $2 million.

According to authorities, no one was arrested for the drugs that were found.

The enforcement efforts throughout our ports of entry remains high... our officers continue to disrupt criminal activity and are dedicated to keeping dangerous drugs from our communities.
-Mark MacVittie, Acting Buffalo Port Director

This isn't the first large drug bust by border patrol agents at a Buffalo / Western New York crossing. Just a few months ago, agents seized more than 500 pounds of weed at the Peace Bridge.

Even though marijuana is legal for recreational use in Ontario, and possession is decriminalized in New York State, it remains illegal to transport weed across the international border. The Federal Government still classifies Marijuana as a Schedule 1 controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.