Teddy Bears Could Be Newest Threat in Drug Trafficking
Drug dealers and major traffickers never cease to devise new ways to get large quantities of drugs from point A to point B without being found or detected. For years and years, it’s been a cat and mouse game with major drug operations and law enforcement. Traffickers are tasked with getting their product to its destination where it can then be broken down and sold for a massive profit. As the drug problem has worsened and the demand for drugs has increased, so has the supply. On a daily basis, law enforcement agencies attempt to stop shipments of drugs from being able to be distributed on city streets. The less drugs that are available, the less of an opportunity there is for addicts to overdose and die. With less addicts overdosing and dying, hopefully more of them will make it into treatment and turn their lives around.
Drugs are regularly seized either by Border Patrol or the United States Postal Service. That being said, drug traffickers have had to come up with pretty clever ways to get their drugs through the screening processes vehicles and packages often undergo. The most recent “clever idea” that a few California dealers had was to hide drugs inside stuffed teddy bears and rabbits in order to send them across the country to Pennsylvania.
An investigation in Montgomery County resulted in the arrests of 13 people after a drug ring was broken up that was allegedly responsible for sending large amounts of oxycodone across the country. The ring was lead by Amir Green and assisted by his girlfriend and a few other family members. They apparently were filling stuffed animals with pills to get by the authorities.
“This corrupt organization headed by Green was responsible for putting thousands of Oxycodone pills—opioids—onto the streets…”
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said, “This corrupt organization headed by Green was responsible for putting thousands of Oxycodone pills—opioids—onto the streets of Montgomery County since 2018, thereby fueling the opioid-heroin-fentanyl crisis we are experiencing, especially considering that many people become addicted first through a legitimate opioid or Oxy prescription, then move on to buying Oxycodone pills on the street before moving to heroin.”
Those involved in the drug ring have now been given a litany of charges for the roles they played. Luckily, the drug-laden teddy bears were discovered and found and a dangerous criminal enterprise was disbanded. Dealers will pretty much stop at nothing to do one thing—make money. Literally, nothing is sacred, not even favorite childhood toys. As long as the broad public keeps demanding drugs, the dealers will continue to supply them to your friends and family. We need to maintain our vigilance in fighting this crisis because although we continue to fight, it continues to grow. So, we certainly have our work cut out for us.
Sources:
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/06/teddy-bears-used-to-ship-opioids-across-country-da.html
