Customs agents find strange contraband hidden in unexpected places. In the U.S., that includes fentanyl concealed in car batteries and meth disguised as rose shipments. Hong Kong customs officers recently uncovered a similar scheme involving nearly 80 pounds of ketamine hidden inside child car seats.

Drug smugglers have used car seats before. In the U.S., Customs and Border Protection officers recently seized $192,000 worth of drugs hidden inside a booster seat. Agents stopped a vehicle at the U.S.-Mexico border and found 11 tightly wrapped packages of fentanyl and cocaine inside an empty booster seat in the back.

Smugglers may have believed the seat would go unnoticed. Many vehicles have booster seats buckled in place. The police K-9 unit was not fooled.

Two shipping containers raised red flags

If smugglers could hide $192,000 worth of drugs in a single booster seat, authorities say scaling up was inevitable. Hong Kong customs officers intercepted two shipping containers filled with “new” child car seats passing through the border.

One container originated in the Netherlands. The other came from Spain. Investigators found ketamine concealed inside the lining of each seat. Smugglers had carefully fastened the drugs in place and resealed the seats.

In total, officers recovered 79.8 pounds of ketamine with an estimated street value of $2.3 million.

Senior Inspector Lau Tsz-yan described the discovery. “The officers had to spend a significant amount of time conducting a thorough inspection of the cargo….The officers had to spend a significant amount of time conducting a thorough inspection of the cargo.”