Authorities seize 26½ pounds of opium at SFO
Joshua Melvin
01/22/2011

Authorities last weekend seized 26½ pounds of opium hidden in packages that passed through a postal service facility at San Francisco International Airport, an official said.

Officers became suspicious of a shipment of rattan stools from Thailand on Jan. 15 and inspected them, said Officer Ed Low of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. After putting the furniture through an X-ray machine, they discovered drugs hidden in the stool legs. A similar second shipment was found the next day.

Both packages were bound for Northern California, said Low, who declined to be more specific. No arrests have been made.

Low said officers decide whether to open and inspect shipments based on considerations such where they come from and whether something weighs more than it should.

Weight discrepancies can suggest there are substances hidden inside an item.

The drugs will be destroyed at an undisclosed location, Low said.

mercurynews.com