Customs officers find meth inside dreamcatcher rings

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Columbus port of entry seized 1.6 pounds of liquid methamphetamine Sunday.

The drugs were hidden inside the rings of Native-American style dreamcatchers, CBP officials said.

“This is one of the most unusual smuggling episodes we have ever encountered,” said Robert Reza, CBP Columbus Port Director. “Smugglers will try to conceal their drug loads in everyday items like soft drink cans, framed artwork and other seemingly innocent items, but CBP utilizes numerous inspection techniques that help identify and stop these shipments.”

The seizure was made just after 2 p.m. when a 2000 Dodge Neon with a woman and two children entered the port from Mexico.

A customs officer sent the vehicle to secondary examination, where a drug-sniffing dog alerted officers to six dreamcatchers in the vehicle.

Officers discovered the dreamcatcher rings were made of rubber tubing filled with a liquid that allegedly tested positive for the properties of methamphetamine.

CBP officers took custody of the driver, a 25-year-old Mexican female from Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico.

She was turned over to ICE HSI special agents to face charges in connection with the failed smuggling attempt.

Her eight-year-old and one-year-old daughters were released to a relative.