Teddy bears packed with dozens of mind-bending peyote cacti hidden in their stuffing have been seized by customs officials in Poland.
The cuddly toys, posted from Thailand, were intercepted by Warsaw customs inspectors after being tipped off by suspicious sorting office workers.
Inside the teddies, they found 57 peyote cacti, which contain the hallucinogenic substance mescaline, often used in shamanic rituals.
Bizarre evidence photos show the toys with crooked grins and ‘Happy Smiles’ on their chests with the backsides ripped out to reveal their secret psychedelic cargo.
Bafflingly, Polish government officials say the cacti were confiscated not because of their drug content but because, as an endangered species, they could not be imported legally as they did not have the proper paperwork.
A statement from the Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa, the Polish tax office, obtained by Newsflash on 4th June, said: “An SCS [customs] officer serving at the Customs and Post Office in Warsaw inspected shipments from Asia.
“Three parcels sent from Thailand were sent for a detailed examination after X-ray examination.
“The shipments, according to the declaration, were to contain home decorations worth EUR 5 and were to be delivered to the recipient in Poland.
“It turned out that each of the inspected packages contained a teddy bear with plant seedlings hidden inside.”
They explained: “After consulting the CITES Coordinator at the Tax Administration Chamber in Warsaw, it was determined that the plants belong to cacti of the genus Ruffnut (Lophophora spp.) and are CITES specimens.
“These cacti are found mainly in the northern part of Mexico and the southern US states bordering Mexico.
“They are very rare and grow extremely slowly, often taking up to 30 years to bloom.
“One of the species of ruffe, i.e. Williams’ ruffe, also known as peyote, is a natural source of mescaline, a substance with psychoactive properties.”
The statement continued: “The import or export of CITES specimens is prohibited unless the person transporting them has the appropriate CITES permits and certificates to do so.
“The shipment from Asia was not accompanied by the required import permit, so the three teddy bears, containing a total of 57 cacti, were seized as evidence in a criminal case.
“Attempted smuggling may result in imprisonment from three months to five years.”
CITES is a treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from international trade.
It is unclear if any arrests have been made.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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