Man Caught with 20 Lbs. of Ecstasy Pills

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Field Operations today announced that they seized about 20 pounds of Ecstasy from a Canadian citizen who was trying to cross the Peace Bridge on Sunday.

CBP officers encountered Anthony Ighodaro, a 29-year-old Canadian citizen from Mississauga, Ontario, as he applied for admission into the United States at the Peace Bridge border crossing in Buffalo. Ighodaro provided a Canadian passport as proof of citizenship and identity and told the primary CBP that he was on his way to the mall to spend the day shopping. Ighodaro was selected for a CBP secondary enforcement exam.

During the course of the secondary vehicle inspection, a CBP narcotics detector dog demonstrated a positive alert to the rear bumper area of the vehicle. A subsequent physical inspection of the area in question resulted in the discovery of two black garbage bags that were affixed to the inside rear bumper utilizing black tape and wire. The garbage bags were found to contain six clear plastic bags of multi-colored tablets, which later field-tested positive for methylene-dioxymethamphetamine or MDMA, better known as Ecstasy.

CBP officers seized a total of 30,160 tablets (approximately 20 lbs) of Ecstasy, with an estimated street value of $600,000. Ighodaro was arrested on federal charges of importation and possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. He was turned over to agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further investigation and prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.

Photos provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection