U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, New York seized nearly 300kg (655 lbs) of cannabis in a commercial shipment of plastic bottles this week.

This is only the most recent in an ongoing trend of large seizures of cannabis entering the US from Canada since the two countries closed their border in March 2020 due to the covid pandemic, with more than 70,000 lbs seized.

On Thursday, March 10, CBP officers assigned to the Port of Buffalo at the Peace Bridge say they selected a commercial shipment that was manifested as “empty plastic bottles” for additional examination. After an initial examination revealed anomalies in the trailer, a canine search produced an alert on the cardboard boxes inside. A subsequent physical inspection of the shipment revealed vacuum-sealed bags that contained marijuana within the boxes. The contents of the vacuum-sealed bags field-tested positive for the properties of cannabis and has an estimated street value of over $1.3 million dollars, or about $4.30/g.

In February, $2 million worth of cannabis was seized at the Port of Buffalo, at the Lewiston Bridge, about 30 minutes north of the Peace Bridge in a commercial shipment that was manifested as cardboard. In January another 900 lbs were seized at the Lewiston Cargo Facility in Lewiston, New York, north of Niagara Falls.