Smugglers along the U.S.-Mexico border are trying to traffic in the same contents now that are causing long lines and hoarding in American grocery stores: toilet paper and household cleaners.
The first incident turned up at the El Paso, Texas, commercial port of entry: a large shipment of what was supposed to be labeled cleaning supplies and toilet paper.
Customs officers instead found the cleaning supplies were mostly just water in bottles labeled Clorox, bleach, Fabuloso cleaner and 20 boxes of Adorable brand toilet paper.
The bottles were labeled for sale in Mexico, not the U.S., and constitute an import violation.
Then Wednesday, a second man was found carrying thousands of medication pills and dozens of diluted Clorox bleach bottles.
The driver was a 51-year-old U.S. citizen. He told officers he intended to drive the stash to Alaska to sell.
