Category: smuggling

Ottawa Unsure About Scope of Tobacco Smuggling: Federal Records

The federal government is unsure about the scope of tobacco smuggling in Canada, according to records tabled to the House of Commons. “The excise reporting gap was estimated to be on average $400 million of federal excise revenue for the tax years 2014 to 2018,” said an Inquiry of Ministry document tabled to Parliament on…


Jordan: Israel Arrested Lawmaker on Arms-Smuggling Charges

AMMAN, Jordan—Jordan’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday said a Jordanian lawmaker has been arrested by Israel on suspicion of smuggling weapons and gold into the occupied West Bank. The ministry’s spokesman, Sinan Majali, said Jordanian officials are following the case “to find out the merits of the situation and address it as soon as possible.” The…


Pigeon Carrying a ‘Backpack’ of Crystal Meth Caught in BC Prison

A B.C. prison is probing a bizarre case of illicit drug trafficking, one that involves a pigeon. On Dec. 29, officers at the Pacific Institution, a medium-security federal institution in Abbotsford, B.C., discovered a pigeon with a small package attached to it in a fashion similar to a “backpack.” The bird was found in a fenced yard…


US Navy Seizes Over 170 Tons of Hazardous Materials Smuggled to Yemen

The U.S. Navy found a massive volume of missile fuel and type of explosive material often used in terrorism aboard a vessel bound for Yemen from Iran, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Tuesday. CENTCOM said in a statement that its forces had interdicted a stateless sailing dhow on Nov. 8 that appeared to…


Texas Customs Seize 50 Wheels of Contraband Cheese

An Albuquerque woman has been fined for attempting to smuggle wheels of cheese through the Paso Del Norte border crossing in El Paso, Texas. On Sept. 6, the woman arrived at the border crossing in a car from Mexico at around 7:00 a.m. The woman declared that she was bringing in 10 wheels of cheese…


Texas Magistrate Accused of Smuggling Illegal Aliens Across US-Mexico Border

An attorney in Corpus Christi, Texas, who was federally appointed and licensed as a magistrate in 2003 was arrested on Aug. 13 on accusations of smuggling illegal aliens and resisting arrest, according to police. Jimmy Fullen, a deputy constable of Galveston County, announced the arrest of Timothy Daniel Japhet in an Aug. 20 press statement on…


4 Arrested Over Deadly Smuggling Operation That Left 53 Dead in Texas

Four people have now been arrested in connection with the people smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of 53 people in the back of a sweltering semi trailer near America’s southern border, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Homero Zamorano, 45, was charged on Wednesday with one count of alleged alien smuggling resulting in…


4 Arrested, 2 Charged Over Deadly Smuggling Operation That Left 53 Dead in Texas

Four people have now been arrested in connection with the people-smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of 53 people in the back of a sweltering semi-trailer near America’s southern border, according to the Department of Justice. Homero Zamorano, 45, was charged on Wednesday with one count of alleged alien smuggling resulting in death, and Christian Martinez,…


50 Found Dead Inside Tractor-Trailer in San Antonio ; Biden’s ICE Director Pick Withdraws

Dozens of people were found dead in a tractor-trailer in Texas. It’s part of a suspected human smuggling operation, and part of a tragic trend. Some purported shady business in politics. Drug money to fund a campaign? Sleeper candidates of the opposite party to win local elections? We fill you in on what’s happening in…


Book Review: ‘Mutiny on the Rising Sun: A Tragic Tale of Slavery, Smuggling, and Chocolate’ (2021)

Jared Ross Hardesty’s new book “Mutiny on the Rising Sun: A Tragic Tale of Slavery, Smuggling, and Chocolate” has plenty of thematic elements to make it an exhilarating story. Unfortunately, the book doesn’t live up to its themes. I am always up for stories of adventure, even mutiny, on the high seas. When I received…