C.B.P. News Release

K-9 Rambo Finds Opium Shipments in Chicago Foreign Mail

(Wednesday, October 08, 2008)

Chicago — A U.S. Customs and Border Protection K-9 officer working with his partner Rambo seized more than 17 pounds of opium at the Chicago Foreign Mail Facility Tuesday.

While screening arriving international mail at the Foreign Mail Facility at O’Hare Airport, Rambo discovered two separate shipments of opium, that had been soaked and dried onto wooden twigs and packed in dried leaves.

The parcels, shipped from Loas and destined to Minneapolis, Minn., were manifested with the description "Traditional Medicine." The CBP K-9 officer opened the parcel to find numerous plastic bags which contained wood twigs and dried leaves. The twigs appeared to be saturated with an unknown substance that gave off a distinctive odor. The substance from one of the twigs field tested positive for the presence of opiates.

This is the tenth opium seizure in the last four weeks by CBP at the foreign mail branch for a combined total of more than 83 pounds of opium. The shipments have all originated from Laos and were destined to various residences in Minneapolis, Minn. The investigation is on-going.

"The CBP K-9 program has been outstanding in detecting concealed narcotics that arrive in the United States,â€