FOUND in the mail
Interesting story about things not "lost" in the mail ... but "found in the mail" ........ amazing ... especially the live creepy crawly things 
Quote:
Bazookas, snakes found in mail bound for Canada
Updated Sun. Jul. 15 2007 11:37 AM ET
Canadian Press
TORONTO -- Bazookas, containers squirming with snakes and toys stuffed with cocaine -- they've all managed to find their way into Canada in a way most people might never expect.
Neatly packaged and creatively disguised, they're just some of the thousands of surprising discoveries made by Canada Border Services officials simply by examining packages and parcels destined for mailboxes across the country.
"For some reason, people think they can mail anything," said Peter, who works at the international mail processing centre in Mississauga, Ont., which handles 70 per cent of the mail that comes into Canada.
"You would never walk into an airport with a AK-47," said Peter, who didn't want his name disclosed for security reasons, "but somehow it seems OK to mail it."
The surprises Peter has encountered in his three years include an assortment of weapons, a buffet of narcotics and a number of "live" packages.
"Just a couple days ago, one of the officers came in and said there was something moving in a package, so we X-rayed it, and it was live snakes," he said.
In some cases, the insects are set up as booby traps aimed at harming the person opening the package, he added.
"We have had live scorpions moving around in tubes, and even hundreds of baby tarantulas all stacked up in a plastic container.''
Even before Canada Post gets a hold of the mail, every international package and letter coming into the country is scrutinized and processed by the Canada Border Service Agency.
"We are the first line of defence," said Patrizia Giolti, communications manager for the agency. "We see your letter, your parcel, your shipment first."
Deadly insects and reptiles aren't the only hazards these officials regularly come across. The Canada Post building where the centre is based has been evacuated numerous times when packages containing bombs, grenades or landmines turn up.
"On my third day on the job, I got a box that looked like a large battery pack that had been taped up with electrical tape and had wires running out of it ... so I think, 'It's a bomb,'" said Doug, another worker who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"I sounded the horn, the entire building was evacuated and the bomb squad came in. It turned out to be a battery for an old-style video camera."
People who order weapons online are usually military collectors who buy the items overseas and have them shipped home, said Doug.
"Every country has different regulations governing their post office. It may be fine to send it from one country, but arriving in Canada it's not allowed."
In many cases, an offending package is glaringly obvious, with odd handwriting, undeclared contents, and suspicious packaging.
But more often the packages look innocuous, and show no signs of foul play. In one case, the prohibited substance was so well-hidden that it was embedded inside the corrugated cardboard used in the packaging.
"Sometimes people will soak the box in opium so that by the time it gets to Canada, it has dried, and can be scraped off," Peter said.
"Other times, we will find cocaine in toys, books, food containers, and even clothes," he said. Detector dogs come to the centre two to three times a week and all suspicious packages are X-rayed, he added.
In situations where a prohibited item has been discovered, the officials then share intelligence and evidence with the appropriate law enforcement agencies, who can then lay charges if necessary, Giolti said.
"The mail is not a free-for all; you just can't ship anything and everything you want," she said. "Just because it's in the mail doesn't mean we won't find you, if it comes to that."
Other drugs that have been mailed into Canada include marijuana, ecstasy, heroin and "insane amounts of Viagra," said Peter.
"We get thousands of pills a day. A lot of people buy it online, but they don't know it's a controlled substance, and you can't have it unless you have a prescription."
While online shopping sites such as EBay have dramatically increased the volume of mail coming into the processing centre, which receives 12-15 million packages a year, Peter says it has also helped to make his job unpredictable.
"Every time I come across something odd, like let's say soiled underwear, I check eBay," he says. "And guess what, you can buy it there."
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