Forget illegal drugs. Smugglers turn to toilet paper, cleaning gear amid coronavirus

As demand for cleaning supplies, medications and toilet paper continues to rise in the United States, some items are becoming harder to find as people stockpile goods during the coronavirus pandemic.

And traffickers know it — that’s why they’ve traded smuggling drugs for sneaking essential items like toilet paper and bleach across the border in El Paso, Texas, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP officers working at the Bridge of the Americas international crossing seized a “large quantity” of over-the-counter medications and diluted bottles of Clorox arriving from Mexico on Wednesday, CBP said in a release.

Officers confiscated a over 4,300 pills of assorted medication and 30 bottles of diluted Clorox, CBP said. The driver responsible for smuggling the supplies told officers he intended to sell and ship orders to customers in Alaska and other areas, according to CBP.

Just one week earlier, officers at the same international crossing seized a large shipment of toilet paper and cleaning supplies, CBP said in a release date March 19. Officers found the shipment contained 168 boxes of Clorox bleach, 9 boxes of Clorox cleaner, 98 boxes of Pinol cleaner, 28 boxes of Fabuloso cleaner and 20 boxes of Adorable brand toilet paper, according to CBP.

In that instance, CBP officers and National Guard soldiers noted that many of bottles had no safety seals and appeared to have been tampered with. Bottles containing bleach “lacked the familiar bleach smell,” CBP said. When CBP tested the products in a lab, they found the primary ingredient in many of the items sampled was water, according to CBP’s release.

“In the current environment it is reprehensible that someone would attempt a scheme like this to prey upon the concerns and fears of our community, likely for financial gain,” said CBP El Paso Director of Field Operations Hector Mancha. ““Consumers may think they are saving a few dollars by ordering these foreign medications online, but if it has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, they could be further putting their health at risk.”