US Customs and Border Protection agents in Lewiston, NY, seized 106 pounds (48 kg) of cannabis at the Lewiston Bridge connecting the US and Canada on Monday, April 18. 

The cannabis was manifested as “foam scrap”, but upon inspection, border agents discovered three boxes containing vacuum-sealed bags of cannabis. The contents of the vacuum-sealed bags were then field-tested to confirm the properties of cannabis, which authorities said had a street value of $250,000, or just over $5 a gram (US).

The Lewiston Bridge connects the Niagara region of Ontario with upstate New York, just north of Buffalo. Cannabis seizures of this kind along the shared US and Canadian border are not uncommon and increased significantly in the past few years of pandemic-related border closures to non-essential traffic.

Border agents also seized 2,000 pounds of cannabis in January at the Blue Water Bridge crossing that connects Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan, in a recent bust, as well.

More than 13,000 pounds (~6,000 kg) of cannabis have already been seized at the US/Canada border in this fiscal year (Oct-March), compared to nearly 80,000 pounds (~36,000 kg) in 2021 and over 54,000 (~24,000 kg) in 2020. In 2019, less than 8,000 pounds (~4,000 kg)  were seized.