MARYLAND: The US Customs at Baltimore the largest cocaine seizure in Baltimore since 2007, when authorities found more than 300 pounds inside a refrigerated shipping container from Ecuador, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In December 2013, customs officers found 128 pounds of cocaine in two duffel bags inside a container from Panama.
The latest discovery occurred Aug. 4, when officers conducting a routine inspection found anomalies in the stacks of lumber in a container from Brazil, authorities said. The officers found two gym bags with 57 bricks of a white powdery substance that authorities said tested positive for cocaine. Authorities estimate it is worth more than $4 million.
The amount is large for Baltimore, but a drop in the bucket compared with drug seizures elsewhere, such as along the nation’s southwestern border, said Stephen Sapp, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.