Dulles CBP Officers Unspool Nearly 70,000 Ambien Pills Wrapped in Yarn

STERLING, Va. – You wool not believe the twist in this yarn.

What started as a routine Customs and Border Protection examination of a shipment of yarn from India ended in the seizure of nearly 70,000 Zolpidem Tartrate pills on January 16.

Officers initially examined the shipment, consisting of 96 rolls of black yarn spooled around pink tubes, at an air cargo warehouse near Washington Dulles International Airport on December 17. The shipment was destined to an address in Buena Park, Calif.

CBP officers unspooled the black yarn of one tube and discovered multiple 10-pill blister packs taped to the pink tube.

The pills were labeled Zolpidem Tartrate, commonly known as Ambien. Zolpidem is classified by the DEA as Schedule IV controlled substance. Zolpidem belongs to a class of medications called sedative-hypnotics and is prescribed by doctors to treat insomnia.

CBP officers then checked the remaining 95 yarn spools and discovered that they also concealed similar pill blister packs.

In total, CBP officers discovered a combined 69,813 pills concealed inside each of the 96 spools of black yarn. The pills weighed a collective 60 pounds and had a domestic value of about $33,000.

CBP officers seized the Zolpidem pills on January 16.

“This is a very bold attempt to smuggle a significant amount of prescription medicine into the United States, but this creative concealment method failed to fool Customs and Border Protection officers,” said Christine Waugh, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C. “CBP officers are committed to protecting the public by intercepting illicit and potentially dangerous products that arrive at our nation’s ports of entry every day.”

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.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America's frontline: the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. The 65,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air, and on the seas. We facilitate safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We enhance the nation's security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration, and trust.