It happened in Detroit at the Ambassador Bridge when Customs & Border Protection Officers discovered drugs in the spare tire of a car that attempted to come into the U.S.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers at the Ambassador Bridge discovered 23.9 Kilograms of ecstasy and 5 Kilograms of Methamphetamine in the spare tire of a car that was attempting to enter into the U.S. via the NEXUS lane – but they got caught!

NEXUS is a joint frequent traveler program with Canada where applicants voluntarily undergo a background check, an in-person interview and fingerprinting, and pay a $50 five-year membership fee. Travelers show their pass and whiz through – voila you’re across the border!

The car was driven by a 35 year old male Canadian citizen from Whitby, ON, who was entering the United States Wednesday afternoon using the NEXUS lane at the Ambassador Bridge. The driver told the inspecting officer that he was golfing and that he had nothing to declare. He was then referred to the secondary inspection area for further inspection.

Customs & Border Protection Officers checking the car discovered that the spare tire was extremely clean in comparison with the rest of the undercarriage of the car. They removed the spare tire and discovered that it felt quite heavy. The officers brought their canine team in, inspected the car and tire and the K-9’s gave them a positive reaction to the tire. Yes, there are drugs here!

The on duty supervisor authorized the opening of the tire which led to officers finding and removing 14 bags of pills and 5 bags of an off-white pasty substance from the tire.

Field testing of the pills was positive for Ecstasy and the pasty substance tested positive for Methamphetamine. A total of 23.9 kilos (52 lbs), or approximately 72,900 Ecstasy pills, with a street value of approximately $36,450, and 5 kilos (11 lbs) of Methamphetamine were recovered.

Without delay or fanfare the driver, his car and the drugs were all turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents for further investigation.

"This was a participant in one of our trusted traveler programs and he betrayed the trust that was being given to him" stated Port Director Roderick Blanchard. "NEXUS offers benefits to travelers and CBP will not tolerate participants who violate the rules and the trust we give them as members of the program."