C.B.P. News Release

$2 Million in Ecstasy Interdicted at Peace Arch Border Crossing

(Wednesday, May 27, 2009)

Blaine, Wash. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Peace Arch Port of Entry arrested a 30-year-old Vancouver, British Columbia, woman on May 23 for allegedly attempting to smuggle into the United States 134,838 tablets of ecstasy worth nearly two million dollars.

Nguyen Loan Trinh, a Canadian citizen, was entering Washington State Saturday morning when 84 pounds of ecstasy was discovered hidden within the gas tank of a 2008 Acura MDX. During her initial inspection, Trinh claimed to be traveling to Seattle to visit a sick aunt.

An examination of her sport utility vehicle revealed that the rear seat and gas tank area had been tampered with. CBP officers removed the seat and noticed that the bolts on the gas sending unit access panel had also been tampered with.

CBP officers opened the access panel to the gas tank, revealing 60 packages of multi colored tablets which field tested positive for the properties of ecstasy. Trinh was immediately taken into custody and turned over to agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for further investigation and prosecution.

“Today’s arrest not only resulted in the removal of $2 million dollars of ecstasy from the streets but also demonstrates CBP’s determination to forcefully target both the terrorist and criminal organizations,â€