Silk Road forums
Discussion => Security => Topic started by: CBSA on February 08, 2012, 12:03 am
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Hello,
This is a throw away account, and no PM's will be answered or even checked. I am using multiple reflectors to get to this forum beyond simple TOR.
Background (bear with me):
I am a CBSA (Canadian Border Service Agent in a CCRA/ Canada Post clearing house. (the Candian version of the IRS in the USA). My job is secondary inspection, and I am what's called a team lead (first level management inside the government hierarchy).
Three years ago, I was in an accident, the nature of which I will not disclose for security reasons. My rehab took over a year of exercise and a steady diet of Demerol (Meperidine) (50mg) IM, and Ativan (1mg) at least twice a day. Eventually the Demerol was switched out for Dilaudid (Hydromorphone). My physical health is better, but I have developed a nasty dependence on Opiates and Benzo's since that I have been unwilling/unable to kick.
This was not a problem, as I had a friendly doctor, but lately the OXY scare has made even the most liberal MD switch people off to things like Toradol (Ketorolac) and Talwin (Pentazocine) in order to avoid the hassles from the CMA (Canadian Medical Association.) and lose their prescribing license.
I know all the ER shopping tricks, and ER nurses and doctors do too. That is a pointless endeavour. I have acquaintances who are B.R.M (if I have to explain that one, you don't need to know), who hook me up occasionally, but they want unreasonable favors in my official capacity as payment.
SR. Is a god-send. The prices are terrible for somebody like me on a government salary, but some creative juggling has allowed me to control my habit. I talked to several separate vendors who have expressed concerns shipping to Canada because of our strict customs regimen. So my gift back to you international vendors is some tricks of the trade to increase the likelyhood of you getting your packages through.
1: Do not use brown bubble wrap envelopes with pre-printed BS looking return addresses that do not match the postmark. That's going to secondary.
2: Never pack glass. It tinkles, in transit, even surrounded in bubble wrap, it's hard/impossible to hide it's shape from our BSX scanners. We seize more steroids than any other drugs because of this.
3: Do not try to use perfume/cologne/coffee/patchouli/sage to hide tell-tale odours. Our dogs love all those smells, and again: Welcome to secondary.
4: If you ship more than an ounce of anything, it will more likely get through if you make it look like a care package from family. Handwritten address, full return addresses, and neat careful tape jobs with your product safetly placed in some more innocuous container.
5:Powders andd pills leave a very distinct outline on the outside of plain envelopes. Buy those cheap leather single credit card holders and put them in something like that. We see packages all the time with 20-30 little round punch-out looking holes in plain white envelopes. Welcome to secondary.
6: Watch countries. These countries are updated monthly, but the following are a giant red flag and no matter how pretty the package, it's getting a second look: Pakistan, India, Netherlands, Greece, Afghanistan, Columbia, Panama, Portugal, Serbia, Croatia. Use- re-mailers, try to get your packages sent from anywhere in the UK (with the exception of Northern Ireland). Italy comes and goes as a red-flag origin, but is usually safe. If you mist ship from these countries, ship small letter shaped/sized documents, postcards are best.
7: DO NOT SHIP LIQUIDS. I repeat, DO NOT SHIP liquids. They break, they leak, they condensate, they swish when you move them. We have a weight scale that rolls suspicious packages at 1.5Gs RMS and it tells us immediately if there is liquid in the package.
8: Use exact postage. It seems strange, but illicits usually over-postage their packs, apparently Ted Kaszinski did this too.. odd.
So those are your biggest hurdles shipping internationally into Canada. If you do it smartly, aren't overzealous, split your large shipments and avoid Montreal, Cornwall, and Vancouver clearing houses, I'd say you have a better than 90% chance of getting your product through un-molested.
Out.
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Love it!
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Brilliant :D always wondered if many LE use Silk Road...
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Posts like this should get complied into stickies :D
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Most of the OP is common sense but it's good practice to take stuff professing to be the enemy's intel with a grain of salt as it may just be misdirection, a commonly used netwar tactic against places like SR.
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Interesting...Could he have slipped something in there to help LE/ Canadian Boarder Patrol?
One Little lie that vendors adopt can be a HUGE ADVANTAGE for LE...
Example do there dogs love all those smells?? Or just 3 out of the four???? You get where I am going?
I would be so upset if I missed this post! This checks out with me but IDK SIR i just dont know! It certainly is made to look legit.
Cant wait to see what the hero/boss members have to say! I sure would like to believe we have some LE/BC on our side, I SURE WOULD!?
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Interesting...Could he have slipped something in there to help LE/ Canadian Boarder Patrol?
One Little lie that vendors adopt can be a HUGE ADVANTAGE for LE...
Example do there dogs love all those smells?? Or just 3 out of the four???? You get where I am going?
I would be so upset if I missed this post! This checks out with me but IDK SIR i just dont know! It certainly is made to look legit.
Cant wait to see what the hero/boss members have to say! I sure would like to believe we have some LE/BC on our side, I SURE WOULD!?
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when i saw the subject i was half expecting the OP to say "SR is under investigation. You've been warned."
that'd be a little ridiculous. thanks for the useful info!
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Thank you for taking the time to write that up.
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Thanks for realizing there are sometimes benefits, and these guys on SR aren't the cartels. Good info on the liquid detection method.
I can confirm the back-scatter x-ray (BSX) info. When low energy x-rays are fired at an object, they cause interactions which produce Compton electrons. These bastards go in every direction. The more object density, the more Comptons. This is how they detect dense objects like guns under clothing at airports, etc. Paper, obviously, has the density of jack shit, while glass and liquids are relatively dense. Pretty damn obvious, and no way to mask its shape without getting really creative.
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Ok i see.thx :)
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Thank you for taking the time to write that up.
If the SR is under investigation we would be last to know...
edit: yeah, i quoted the wrong dude...sry
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Thank you for taking the time to write that up.
If the SR is under investigation we would be last to know...
edit: yeah, i quoted the wrong dude...sry
The silk road IS under investigation. The DEA has said as much. It's funny -- you probably are the last to know. LOL.
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4: If you ship more than an ounce of anything, it will more likely get through if you make it look like a care package from family. Handwritten address, full return addresses, and neat careful tape jobs with your product safetly placed in some more innocuous container.
It's interesting how conventional wisdom -- in this case printed address -- is often wrong.
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4: If you ship more than an ounce of anything, it will more likely get through if you make it look like a care package from family. Handwritten address, full return addresses, and neat careful tape jobs with your product safetly placed in some more innocuous container.
It's interesting how conventional wisdom -- in this case printed address -- is often wrong.
There was also a postal intern that posted here saying that handwritten packages are more likely to be screened.
So its hard to know which is the better info.
But basically, I cannot possibly imagine that hand written packages are better. Here's why... It can't possibly be a thing of suspicion to notice a professional looking package with a printed label. No postal officer is going to say "printed label, well packaged - this seems suspicious" - simply because, if you've ever ordered anything from amazon/internet you would know that this is how 99% of packages arrive anyway.
But a handwritten package? That instantly shows you that it is unlikely to have come from a corporate source. Therefore it is either a family thing/a small time company/possible suspicious package.
Whereas a normal printed label package, is exactly the same as 99% of all the other corporate post there. Why would you write a handwritten address to make it look like a care package, when a printed address will make it look like 99% of all other business post?
I am weary of people celebrating anything written here from "LE" as instantly true. For all we know this guy could just be sewing disinformation. Not making any accusations but we shouldn't rule it out.
Vendors right now aren't having any trouble using printed labels. Over 99% of everything gets through and the ones that don't are typically either due to scammers lying/packages from dodgy countries/flukes. If people start reporting that their shit is getting seized more then maybe we'd have to look at the protocol but right now it seems like the conventional wisdom of printed labels being better stands up to the real world evidence.
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Damn, nice.
As an aside, maybe try sampling some of your local cannabis dealers on SR for your pain meds rather than your opiates/benzos regimen? You mentioned being addicted to them, could be beneficial...
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shame Farmers Market down and an asshole shows up here
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Should also only import drugs in the summer with flat envelopes. Customs hires thousands of student interns out of school and they check everything because they need stuff to do.
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yeah this sounds like false information. if you hand write your messages and they intercept them they cant trace you using handwriting experts, or they can add weight to charges if they catch you.
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Not really sure what to make of this. Might very well be a psyop.
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My first instinct says this fuckin stinks !
The other couple of previous posters are spot on .. misinformation at its best. Act all well intentioned with a detailed BS story and throw in 95% true info which every fucker knows anyway .. Then include a few key untruths to try and trip a few ppl up
Na not buyin it
Fuck off you filthy pig !!
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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shame Farmers Market down and an asshole shows up here
I drew the same conclusion as well... TFM goes down and then a dude claiming to be some kind of LE shows up trying to "help vendors" ship...
My inbuilt drug-user scepticism is peaking right now...
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My first instinct says this fuckin stinks !
Fuck off you filthy pig !!
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Ehh... the multiple reflectors part is kinda weird, sounds like some macho defense huffing. The rest all seem to make sense. Im not so sure this OP is trying to slip anyone up. The OP has intimate knowledge of customs. All information no matter who it comes from has some value.
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Here we go on the printed label propaganda again.
If it makes you sleep better at night ::)
The cheap arse printed labeling most vendors are using stand out like dogs balls. What legit company sends out stuck on labels? Those labels dont look anything like something from amazon/internet!
I have said it before but who the fuck gets business mail these days especially from OS?? Its all email ffs. Utility notices yes, bank statements sure, legal documents? Does your SR mail look anything like these? No fucking way. Mine stand out. how is yours?
I think you will find the propaganda is from that shitty document that keeps rearing its ugly head around here about "hand written" letters are a flag. Talk about misinformation.
Thanks OP sorry to hear about your injury.
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My first instinct says this fuckin stinks !
Fuck off you filthy pig !!
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Ehh... the multiple reflectors part is kinda weird, sounds like some macho defense huffing. The rest all seem to make sense. Im not so sure this OP is trying to slip anyone up. The OP has intimate knowledge of customs. All information no matter who it comes from has some value.
As someone else pointed out though .. The handwritten address thing seems contradictory.
Now this might be a big deal if 90% of the mail they are processing is printed and they know dam well a lot of shit is getting past em this way. If they can get some ppl to go handwritten with propoganda like this then they have a much better chance of pickin it up if they are already scrutinising this type of mail more ..
IMHO
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Please, POLITELY, clarify for me novo; Are you referring to a label, printed out and stuck on the envelope; A label printed on a piece of paper and stuck in the window of an envelope; Or both?
I've read your rants about this ant TBH don't have much of an opinion!
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Take a look at your mail.
How much of it comes with a printed label made from a office supply store printed on a little laser printer?
If your mail is anything like mine, only SR mail comes like this. Funny that.
Utility mail has company logos or those little window envelopes, pre printed postage paid.
I just checked all my mail for my business and home and none of it looks like SR mail.
I have received some packages from ebay in the last couple of weeks.... All handwritten. :o TBH I cant ever remember getting a package from ebay /online auction shop that came with a printed label.
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Well Ill privnote for one read the ultimate redflag with the Road. If you dare share what I typed go ahead but I think its best left up to the imagination.
https://privnote.com/n/htmcyyuizosuvnqi/#bwdfmctdodqkybzy
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I have received some packages from ebay in the last couple of weeks.... All handwritten. :o TBH I cant ever remember getting a package from ebay /online auction shop that came with a printed label.
Fair point you raise. Even the HUGE ebay sellers seem to take the time to write by hand.
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I took the OP's hand-written-addressing as a way to increase success rate with large (1 oz or more) deliveries. It wouldn't be noticed hidden in something, as part of a 'care package' from home/friends.
I'm not advocating this, nor deriding it, just what I think the OP was getting at.
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OK you hand write a package and the LE get it they come to your house and the courts order a hand witing sample GUESS WHO IS FUCKED not the $100 Label maker you have on the table
(also always remove the tape ribbon from the Label maker when not using it so the LE can't get addresses of buyers if they Raid your home)
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I have received some packages from ebay in the last couple of weeks.... All handwritten. :o TBH I cant ever remember getting a package from ebay /online auction shop that came with a printed label.
Fair point you raise. Even the HUGE ebay sellers seem to take the time to write by hand.
One ProActive Technique we can use is to request that our Ebay Packages be handwritten. If more and more vendors start handing writing addresses on ebay. Then we have flooded the system with handwriting and that can be good. Like Grateful Dead Concert everyone doing the same thing makes police not so interested.
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OK you hand write a package and the LE get it they come to your house and the courts order a hand witing sample GUESS WHO IS FUCKED not the $100 Label maker you have on the table
(also always remove the tape ribbon from the Label maker when not using it so the LE can't get addresses of buyers if they Raid your home)
Exactly, I would never hand write a label and handwriting a large package is even worse because chances are if it gets intercepted they're going to want to know who sent such a large package. As for the people saying that no one uses stick on labels, you're crazy! People use them all the time, you keep saying places and ebay/amazon don't but what about the 99% of business in the world? They're not all corporations, I'm talking small businesses, I know for a fact they use label makers, on top of that you have legit vendors like the ones on etsy that also use label makers.
Handwritten labels = red flag, just don't do it.
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It looked to me more like he was talking about packages over an ounce. When my kid gets homemade cookies or candy from gramma in a tin box, or my wife gets another shitty home-made sweater sent from her skank sister, they both sure as fuck don't stick a kinkos looking cheap label on it. It's handwritten in gramma writing, or skank script.
I'm going to side with the dude who says cheap labels that have no effort made to make them look like they are from branded companies are the real red flag.
Also.. who the fuck is trying to tie Farmer's Market take-down to this note? Dude wrote this shit back in what,, February?
CC
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OK you hand write a package and the LE get it they come to your house and the courts order a hand witing sample GUESS WHO IS FUCKED not the $100 Label maker you have on the table
(also always remove the tape ribbon from the Label maker when not using it so the LE can't get addresses of buyers if they Raid your home)
Exactly, I would never hand write a label and handwriting a large package is even worse because chances are if it gets intercepted they're going to want to know who sent such a large package. As for the people saying that no one uses stick on labels, you're crazy! People use them all the time, you keep saying places and ebay/amazon don't but what about the 99% of business in the world? They're not all corporations, I'm talking small businesses, I know for a fact they use label makers, on top of that you have legit vendors like the ones on etsy that also use label makers.
Handwritten labels = red flag, just don't do it.
I get that hand writing "could" fuck the hand writer but that is a different topic. I also get how a printed label/envelope has an advantage over handwritten when it comes to automatic sorting machines, although the sorting machines look sophisticated enough to be able to read hand written no problem.
Sure.. small business use label makers. Our business doesn't because it is rare that we have to send out "business mail"/invoice. and when we do it gets printed and the address is shown in a window or sometimes it gets hand written. Like I say go through your mail. How much comes with a printed label? Its called email btw.
Domestically it works I suppose. But across borders I consider the current trend of stick on labels/ printed envelope with a return business address to be fail.
I just look at all the legit OS packaging I get and look at SR mail and have drawn the conclusion that they look very dissimilar. Why? Because the only OS stuff myself or anyone I know ever gets is a package/bulky item(ebay/amazon/online vendor), handwritten envelopes with a birthday/xmas card.
It is not just border security you have to fool. It is the guys that deliver your shit everyday that like drugs too ;)
If it works for you why change! If your success is low as a vendor or buyer, I feel you need to start looking at alternatives.
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Brilliant :D always wondered if many LE use Silk Road...
LE are people too. I think it gets lost within all the hate of LE that it is more than likely that SR is being used by individuals from within LE for their recreational and medicinal needs.
All shapes and sizes use drugs ;)
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And this still isn't a sticky?!
Interesting drop to say the least.
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It's handwritten in gramma writing, or skank script.
^ Oh mate ~~ that's hilarious!
But seriously, I'm really suspicious of the OP. I can't imagine a government official risking his pension & reputation by ordering from SR. Something doesn't add up.
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It's handwritten in gramma writing, or skank script.
^ Oh mate ~~ that's hilarious!
But seriously, I'm really suspicious of the OP. I can't imagine a government official risking his pension & reputation by ordering from SR. Something doesn't add up.
yeah and then there is the doctors and nurses I know that use drugs as well as a whole bunch of other professionals that really should know better heh??
We ALL risk something to buy, use and sell "illegal" substances. Just because you cant imagine it... doesn't mean it is not common.
The only thing that does not sit well with me is the LE in positions like the OP that will use drugs on one hand(legal or other) and then bust a user/seller on the other.
I just hope the OP in whatever capacity he/she is working, turns a blind eye any chance he/she gets. ;)
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It's handwritten in gramma writing, or skank script.
^ Oh mate ~~ that's hilarious!
But seriously, I'm really suspicious of the OP. I can't imagine a government official risking his pension & reputation by ordering from SR. Something doesn't add up.
I've met a fuckload of nurses that doctor shop and divert meds on the regular. Also know a pediatrician that loves cocaine. HMMMM
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OK guys my sister-in-law said the Canadian postal service just started removing oversized packages today randomly for inspection.(she says this is a normal thing they do for 4 hours every two weeks).Anyways the mail that is hardest searched is from China,Indo-Asia & Phillipines
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OK guys my sister-in-law said the Canadian postal service just started removing oversized packages today randomly for inspection
incoming, outgoing or both??
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Last time I got a delivery my wife telephoned me to let me know that "Two REALLY dodgy looking letters have turned up for you". She is not a drug smuggler, nor a heavy drug user and they looked dodgy to her so they probably would have looked dodgy to police/postal workers.
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OK you hand write a package and the LE get it they come to your house and the courts order a hand witing sample GUESS WHO IS FUCKED not the $100 Label maker you have on the table
(also always remove the tape ribbon from the Label maker when not using it so the LE can't get addresses of buyers if they Raid your home)
Oi BB. I'm no expert in shipping matters (and currently ripped on MiNs rocks), but I dunno-- have a kid draw a dragon or unicorn with crayon and a mommy and daddy with 8 fingers on it, and I'm guessing most inspectors are just gonna go "awww" and pass it along.
Novovaine, we all have to make a living, pay bills, it sounds like this guy is a hard luck case, some dudley-do-right who broke himself up and learned what it means to be on the other side of the fence, I hope your right, I hope he does turn his eye occasionally. A lot of us self-medicate for pain that doesn't show up on an MRI or x-ray.
Peace.
CC
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Last time I got a delivery my wife telephoned me to let me know that "Two REALLY dodgy looking letters have turned up for you". She is not a drug smuggler, nor a heavy drug user and they looked dodgy to her so they probably would have looked dodgy to police/postal workers.
LMAO...I feel you on that ;D
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3: Do not try to use perfume/cologne/coffee/patchouli/sage to hide tell-tale odours. Our dogs love all those smells, and again: Welcome to secondary.
Totally true. K9's smell how we see. Let's say you take some weed and throw some coffee in with it. Although, it may fool an inspector by masking the smell, a K9 will go:
"Oh.. coffee! Wait.. what's that? Yay! Weed!!!"
They smell in layers. They are trained with drugs placed inside of various objects (e.g. a tennis ball). Now let's say you put weed in a tennis ball. The dog associates tennis ball with the smell of weed (Pavlovian Conditioning).
weed = tennis ball = toy = busted.
4: If you ship more than an ounce of anything, it will more likely get through if you make it look like a care package from family. Handwritten address, full return addresses, and neat careful tape jobs with your product safetly placed in some more innocuous container.
Although I would prefer to see a printed label from some various business, following shipping procedures from Ebay power-sellers or Amazon vendors, he makes a point. Packages sent from one family member to another, to the best of my knowledge, are not a flag at all. Nonetheless, giving LE handwriting analysis examples are not something I am fond of. I would also think that spray adhesive would be more effective than tape.
8: Use exact postage. It seems strange, but illicits usually over-postage their packs, apparently Ted Kaszinski did this too.. odd.
I have heard this from many sources. If you are a business, overpaying for postage makes no sense. Businesses generally serve one purpose, bottom line, obtaining money. Wasting money here and there is exactly that, a waste. It looks suspicious.
Just my two-cents.
Thank you CBSA for taking the time to post this for us.
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Oi BB. I'm no expert in shipping matters (and currently ripped on MiNs rocks), but I dunno-- have a kid draw a dragon or unicorn with crayon and a mommy and daddy with 8 fingers on it, and I'm guessing most inspectors are just gonna go "awww" and pass it along.
Novovaine, we all have to make a living, pay bills, it sounds like this guy is a hard luck case, some dudley-do-right who broke himself up and learned what it means to be on the other side of the fence, I hope your right, I hope he does turn his eye occasionally. A lot of us self-medicate for pain that doesn't show up on an MRI or x-ray.
Peace.
CC
This has been tried and tested for years. Some of the shit we draw and write on our packages sent between friends that gets delivered is funny as. Not all of it is quite legal 8) Hide in plain sight ;) ( I def wouldn't do it if I was sending cannabis)
Anyway..I totally agree that we all have to make a living. For the majority of LE/customs its just a job that pays the bills and feeds the kids. I have no hard feelings for the majority. They dont make the laws.
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Last time I got a delivery my wife telephoned me to let me know that "Two REALLY dodgy looking letters have turned up for you". She is not a drug smuggler, nor a heavy drug user and they looked dodgy to her so they probably would have looked dodgy to police/postal workers.
LMAO...I feel you on that ;D
Double feels ;D My missus rang me one lunchtime to tell me that a "While you were out" note had been put through the door & she'd just been to the Post Office to pick up two Jiffy bags which smelt "earthy, like that mushroom tea you made" :-[ Oz's of P.Semi's definitely need vac sealing!
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Oi BB. I'm no expert in shipping matters (and currently ripped on MiNs rocks), but I dunno-- have a kid draw a dragon or unicorn with crayon and a mommy and daddy with 8 fingers on it, and I'm guessing most inspectors are just gonna go "awww" and pass it along.
Novovaine, we all have to make a living, pay bills, it sounds like this guy is a hard luck case, some dudley-do-right who broke himself up and learned what it means to be on the other side of the fence, I hope your right, I hope he does turn his eye occasionally. A lot of us self-medicate for pain that doesn't show up on an MRI or x-ray.
Peace.
CC
This has been tried and tested for years. Some of the shit we draw and write on our packages sent between friends that gets delivered is funny as. Not all of it is quite legal 8) Hide in plain sight ;) ( I def wouldn't do it if I was sending cannabis)
Anyway..I totally agree that we all have to make a living. For the majority of LE/customs its just a job that pays the bills and feeds the kids. I have no hard feelings for the majority. They dont make the laws.
Novocaine!
How is your bacon loving dog? :D
And the control experiments on vaccum packing bacon for him/her?
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TBH I have not really got to that little experiment yet.
Every time I get bacon, I eat it ;D
I will do it for you pine...but only you ;)
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question, can sellers just print ebay labels and ship? Mail from eBay come in all shape and form, mail workers see these packages the majority of the time.
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TBH I have not really got to that little experiment yet.
Every time I get bacon, I eat it ;D
I will do it for you pine...but only you ;)
For Science! And to trick your pets.
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BTW you should try kratom. It is cross-tolerant with opioid and is considered to be incredibly similar to suboxone without really impairing you or being additive in and of itself. You can make it into a tea and while you won't feel exceptionally high it will take away your pain and your craving for opoids. I have a friend who has a problem with his back and was addicted to opiates and he has tapered back by taking kratom and occassionally MXE. MXE is also a great opoid replacement for severe pain as it really takes away your pain with less long-term side effects. It was created by a guy with phantom limb syndrome.
8: Use exact postage. It seems strange, but illicits usually over-postage their packs, apparently Ted Kaszinski did this too.. odd.
This is super true. While it may just be easier to throw three stamps on a letter for international it is a hell of a lot better to pay the exact amounts even though small denomination stamps are harder to find. paying 2 stamps+ a .10 and a .5 is a lot better than throwing 3 .45s.
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TBH I have not really got to that little experiment yet.
Every time I get bacon, I eat it ;D
I will do it for you pine...but only you ;)
Sounds like a project for a day after railing Dr Rockso!
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thanks for the info
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"Oh.. coffee! Wait.. what's that? Yay! Weed!!!"
They smell in layers. They are trained with drugs placed inside of various objects (e.g. a tennis ball). Now let's say you put weed in a tennis ball. The dog associates tennis ball with the smell of weed (Pavlovian Conditioning).
weed = tennis ball = toy = busted.
Sounds like the safest method is to put your stash inside a rolled up newspaper.
"Oh fuck, not on the nose... I didn't do anything wrong!"
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I love you guys, and i'm not high yet either
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7: DO NOT SHIP LIQUIDS. I repeat, DO NOT SHIP liquids. They break, they leak, they condensate, they swish when you move them. We have a weight scale that rolls suspicious packages at 1.5Gs RMS and it tells us immediately if there is liquid in the package.
i think if the shipper use a proper documents & packaging,it can pass customs easy.
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I would agree with the suggestion to make a larger shipment look like a "care package" from family.
My family receives USPS flat rate boxes from USA almost every month thru "famously difficult" aussie customs. They are crammed to the gills with crap (sorry mom in law, it is true). They are hand addressed, with return address clearly matching postmark and carefully taped up. They contain all kinds of random stuff.
Not a single one has ever been opened.
If they were opened ounces of illict stuff in any one of a dozen items still wouldn't be found unless there was a chemical signature that drove a determined inspector to tear to pieces or individually x-ray everything in the box.
Of course this kind of shipping costs a lot more. For a 4kg box it might be $50.
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can someone please explain to me what "exact postage" is, as opposed to "over postage"?
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+1 great post
Hello,
This is a throw away account, and no PM's will be answered or even checked. I am using multiple reflectors to get to this forum beyond simple TOR.
Background (bear with me):
I am a CBSA (Canadian Border Service Agent in a CCRA/ Canada Post clearing house. (the Candian version of the IRS in the USA). My job is secondary inspection, and I am what's called a team lead (first level management inside the government hierarchy).
Three years ago, I was in an accident, the nature of which I will not disclose for security reasons. My rehab took over a year of exercise and a steady diet of Demerol (Meperidine) (50mg) IM, and Ativan (1mg) at least twice a day. Eventually the Demerol was switched out for Dilaudid (Hydromorphone). My physical health is better, but I have developed a nasty dependence on Opiates and Benzo's since that I have been unwilling/unable to kick.
This was not a problem, as I had a friendly doctor, but lately the OXY scare has made even the most liberal MD switch people off to things like Toradol (Ketorolac) and Talwin (Pentazocine) in order to avoid the hassles from the CMA (Canadian Medical Association.) and lose their prescribing license.
I know all the ER shopping tricks, and ER nurses and doctors do too. That is a pointless endeavour. I have acquaintances who are B.R.M (if I have to explain that one, you don't need to know), who hook me up occasionally, but they want unreasonable favors in my official capacity as payment.
SR. Is a god-send. The prices are terrible for somebody like me on a government salary, but some creative juggling has allowed me to control my habit. I talked to several separate vendors who have expressed concerns shipping to Canada because of our strict customs regimen. So my gift back to you international vendors is some tricks of the trade to increase the likelyhood of you getting your packages through.
1: Do not use brown bubble wrap envelopes with pre-printed BS looking return addresses that do not match the postmark. That's going to secondary.
2: Never pack glass. It tinkles, in transit, even surrounded in bubble wrap, it's hard/impossible to hide it's shape from our BSX scanners. We seize more steroids than any other drugs because of this.
3: Do not try to use perfume/cologne/coffee/patchouli/sage to hide tell-tale odours. Our dogs love all those smells, and again: Welcome to secondary.
4: If you ship more than an ounce of anything, it will more likely get through if you make it look like a care package from family. Handwritten address, full return addresses, and neat careful tape jobs with your product safetly placed in some more innocuous container.
5:Powders andd pills leave a very distinct outline on the outside of plain envelopes. Buy those cheap leather single credit card holders and put them in something like that. We see packages all the time with 20-30 little round punch-out looking holes in plain white envelopes. Welcome to secondary.
6: Watch countries. These countries are updated monthly, but the following are a giant red flag and no matter how pretty the package, it's getting a second look: Pakistan, India, Netherlands, Greece, Afghanistan, Columbia, Panama, Portugal, Serbia, Croatia. Use- re-mailers, try to get your packages sent from anywhere in the UK (with the exception of Northern Ireland). Italy comes and goes as a red-flag origin, but is usually safe. If you mist ship from these countries, ship small letter shaped/sized documents, postcards are best.
7: DO NOT SHIP LIQUIDS. I repeat, DO NOT SHIP liquids. They break, they leak, they condensate, they swish when you move them. We have a weight scale that rolls suspicious packages at 1.5Gs RMS and it tells us immediately if there is liquid in the package.
8: Use exact postage. It seems strange, but illicits usually over-postage their packs, apparently Ted Kaszinski did this too.. odd.
So those are your biggest hurdles shipping internationally into Canada. If you do it smartly, aren't overzealous, split your large shipments and avoid Montreal, Cornwall, and Vancouver clearing houses, I'd say you have a better than 90% chance of getting your product through un-molested.
Out.
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can someone please explain to me what "exact postage" is, as opposed to "over postage"?
over postage : if you need like, 5 bucks to mail a package, and someone puts a 10 dollar stamp on it ( i don't know exact figures, just giving an example, never mailed anymore than letters )
He's saying that if you want to look like a legit company, spend the exact amount to mail your shit. Companies aren't going to spend more than they have to. Make it about the bottom dollar.
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I have received some packages from ebay in the last couple of weeks.... All handwritten. :o TBH I cant ever remember getting a package from ebay /online auction shop that came with a printed label.
Fair point you raise. Even the HUGE ebay sellers seem to take the time to write by hand.
I received a package today from ebay and it had a label sticker on it :o