Baltimore CBP officers intercept 5-tons of marijuana bound to England

BALTIMORE – In a scene reminiscent of the 1980’s weed smuggling heyday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized over 10,000 pounds of marijuana on May 29 in Baltimore that was concealed inside a shipping container destined to Liverpool, England.

CBP officers initially conducted an export inspection of a 40-foot shipping container from Nassau County, N.Y. that was manifested as men’s cotton and nylon shirts. Instead, CBP officers discovered 238 boxes stuffed full of vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana.

CBP narcotics detector dog Letti, a 2-year-old female German shepherd, alerted to the presence of narcotics in the boxes.

The marijuana weighed a combined 4,815 kilograms, or 10,615 pounds. It has a street value of about $24,000,000 in the United States and could fetch twice that amount in Europe.

Marijuana possession and use is illegal under federal law. Federal law also prohibits the transportation of marijuana across state lines or exporting it from the United States.

“This is a recklessly brazen attempt to smuggle over five tons of marijuana through Baltimore to Europe, and an incredible effort by exceptionally professional Customs and Border Protection officers to intercept it,” said Adam Rottman, CBP’s Area Port Director in Baltimore. “Transnational criminal organizations remain teased by high marijuana profits that they expect to earn in Europe. CBP officers remain focused on ensuring that they never realize those illicit profits.”

No arrests have been made. Special agents from Homeland Security Investigations continue their investigation.

“This scheme to move multi-ton drug loads through commercial cargo channels represents an abuse of the same infrastructure that supports legitimate trade, drives up security and inspection costs, and places an additional burden on the communities that depend on these ports,” said Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin, Homeland Security Investigations Maryland. “HSI Maryland, together with CBP and our invaluable partners, is working tirelessly to stop criminal organizations from injecting millions of dollars in illicit product into global supply chains, and to protect both taxpayers’ money and the integrity of critical trade routes.”

CBP officers across the country continue to observe a trend of transnational criminal organizations attempting to transport marijuana to Europe, mostly in kilo-sized parcels through express air delivery but also trending in passenger baggage. High quality weed can generate huge profits, sometimes two to three times higher than in the United States.

Regionally, CBP officers recently seized 57 pounds of marijuana in London-bound passenger baggage at Washington Dulles International Airport, 247 pounds of weed in four London-bound loads at Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshal Airport, and 97 pounds of weed in two separate loads destined to London and Frankfurt at Philadelphia International Airport. Some of the travelers are facing criminal charges.

In Buffalo last week, CBP officers intercepted over 1,600 pounds of marijuana in a commercial truck at the Peace Bridge border crossing, and in January, CBP officers seized nearly 500 pounds of weed in an England-bound shipping container in Philadelphia.

CBP officers and agents seized about 185,000 pounds of marijuana last fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025) and have already seized about 190,000 pounds during the first seven months of this fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2025, through April 30, 2026).

CBP's border security mission is led at our nation’s Ports of Entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.

Fulfilling President Donald J. Trump’s mandate, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, under the leadership of DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, have delivered the most secure border in history, stopping illicit narcotics from being transported through our ports of entry, which will keep America and our allies safe for generations to come.

Learn more at www.CBP.gov.

Follow the Director of CBP’s Baltimore Field Office on X @DFOBaltimore and CBP’s Office of Field Operations on Instagram @cbpfieldops.