MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — A shipment of illegal pipes used for smoking drugs and destined for a Mountlake Terrace store was seized by customs agents at the Port of Tacoma.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection found about 23,000 glass bongs, which arrived from China on March 2 aboard a ship, officials said Wednesday.
Shipping documents described the goods as glass vases, said Doug McBride, a customs spokesman. Agents investigated and learned the “vases” were actually pipes.
The bongs were seized as drug paraphernalia, McBride said. Consumer Product Safety Commission investigators determined that the bongs had a dangerously high level of lead concentration.
“Certainly water pipes are probably inserted in your mouth,” McBride said. “There could be some harmful impact” from the lead.
McBride would not disclose the name of the store where the pipes were to be shipped. The investigation continues.
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