Evening Star Newspaper, November 30, 1930, Page 102

14 THE NEWEST Fashions 1n Babies’ Rattles, Auto Tires, Fake Gasoline Tanks, and Even Pseudo-Corsets, Are Among the Latest Artifices Used by Con- trabandists, Pro fesstonal and Otherwise, to Bring in Liquor, Narcotics and Jewels From European Nations, Canada and Mexico, but the Customs Inspeciors Usually Spoil the Game. ' BY JAL'™S NEVIN MILLER. COMELY lady of uncertain age gave cusioms i1 _...o”s & busy haif hour the other uay a! Buffalo. It s:ems that the good woman, clad in fash- ionable garmentis, had just crossed the border from Canada, and, of course, was sub- ject to the usual inspection. All seemed to be above board concerning her possessions when all at onoe the critical eye of one of the in- spectors took note of a very interesting fact. Now, this is undeniably a corsetless age. But the lady was wearing a formidable pair of cor- sets that secmed to be sadly out of proportion to her slight figure. So despite the woman's protests she was hustled away to the matrons’ room, where an intimate examination of her clothing was made, Sure enough, the “corsets” were tremendous, easily measuring an inch thick. So beautifully made were they, lacing up and down the back, thmy they must have cost the owner in the neighborhood of $25. But they scrved another purpose than of fitting the female form divine— they contained no less than two gallons of whiskey! This was only one of many striking incidents encountered daily by Uncle Sam’s customs offi- cials in their endeavors to prevant the illegal introduction of merchandise and contraband into this country from Mexico, Canada and abroad. Oftentimes inspectors are called upon to re- main at their posts from 12 to 24 hours at & stretch. Others have sacrificed their lives in defense of our laws and our revenue. Again and again they are confronted with hardened criminals engaged in the proféssional smug- gling traffic, who, rather than surrender their contraband, may elect to “shoot it out.” Many inspectors bear the well earned scars of battles with notorious international smugglers. 'rm: CUSTOMS SERVICE, established in July, 1789, is one of the oldest institutions in the Federal Government. Its employes, nearly 10,000 in number, are scattered in 47 customs districts throughout the United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Probably the average person does not realize that the total amount of customs revenue col- Baspector at New York City examining various prohibited fruits from Italy. ders must be inspecied, and its baggage, if any, the fiscal year ending June 30, last Jected last year was in excess of $602,000,000. £ i FRF B .fiE;Eg Nuently every automobile that crosses our bor- SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, NOVEMBER 30, 1930 SMUGGLING Government authorities at Philadelphia examining packages of contraband plants. highway traffic entering the United States handled at the Peace Bridge at Buff: structure is 12 miles long and at the time over 16,000 automobiles use it daily. More than 8,000 automobiles, carrying upward of 30,000 passengers daily require customs exam- ination. To handle this gigantic task the Customs Service has stationed at the American end of Peace Bridge a force of thoroughly trained in- spectors sufficient to handle a peak load of 1,800 motor veaicles per hour. NOW, a word as to how automobiles are in- spected when they report at a customs port of entry along the border. American tourists with automobiles going into Canada or Mexico need feel no apprehension over the customs requirements to be met upon returning to the United States. They are required by law, how- ever, to report to the customs officer nearest took it out of the country, then no further re- quirements are necessary. Naturally the customs inspectors §t Buffalo, with its tremendous flow of incoming traffic from Canads, have had to devise an efficient and quick method of imspection. Thus every car in each lane is directed past an inspection Striking example of one of the clever- est ruses of smugglers. attached to the rear of his car. The tul the tires were split and eight bottles of concealed in each. A cold patch was placed on the tubes and the tires inflated. ANl went well until the youth had just abous reached the American inspection booth. Where- upon the patch on one tire became loose, de- flating the tire. The tire needed only to be touched by the inspector to reveal something other than air on the inside. Both tires were rived at one of the border ports and drove to the customs station. He explained that sick woman remained in the car, sin extremely painful for her to move. The intuition of customs officers is canny. It is surprising how quickly detect a falsehood. ‘This particular officer informed the inspection could not very well be made the lady stepped out of the car; that it only require a few minutes and that need only move a few steps to one side of automobile. She did. However, the woman's awkward movements suggested anything but lumbago. So the officer suggested in kindly but definitz tones that per- haps she should visit the customs house and unburden herself of any contraband she might be carrying. She did. OT infrequently young women who are ape parently very well bred will try to smuggle bottles of liquor by concealing them upon the persons of their aged parents. And recently a “clergyman” with all the vestments, dignity and poise of his calling was found to be a pro- fessional rum runner. Perhaps there is a touch of humor in the case of 2 man lately apprehended with a large load of liquor. Having paid his fine, he indignantly demanded that the liquor be returned to him s0 that he wouldn’t be forced to disappoint his customers! One professional whom the government offi- cers had been trying to trap for some time met his Waterloo in the following manner: He made the acquaintance of a couple on a steamer and presented their baby daughter with a rat- tle. The evening following their arrival in New York city he called at their home and offered the child a more expensive and attractive rate tle in lieu of the ome presented on the boat. Naturally the child was delighted, and accepted the offer. Government agents were likewise delighted. Having trailed him to the house, they arrested him as hé came out, and upon searching him found valuable gems cleverly hidden within the plaything. One of the most difficult problems with which the Customs Service has to deal is the narcotic smuggling trade. Because “dope” of great value may be concealed within a comparatively small parcel, the ease of this sort of smuggling operation is accordingly increased and the possibilities of detection lessened. An important seizure of narcotics was made at New York on September 15 at one of its Continued on Fijteenth Poge