A piece of stunning news where a drug trafficking ring used boxes with Pokemon art to conduct illegal activities recently went viral and caught the attention of Pokemon fans. The Massachusetts authorities in New Bedford were able to locate and eliminate the crime. It is a disheartening and alarming matter for Pokemon fans.
The Bristol County District Attorney conveyed the investigation messages related to these illegal activities on June 8, 2023. Two men related to this activity, Darren Casado Ruizb (20) and Angel Rodriguez (19), were arrested by the United States Postal Service inspector and New Bedford police detectives, who planned a thrilling operation to trap them.
Pokemon art cases found by the police used for transporting Cocaine illegally
The news went viral due to the Pokemon art cases used as camouflage for cocaine shipped from Puerto Rico. The idea of shipping cocaine illegally through this type of box, where anime art is present, is unusual and will easily pass under the authorities’ noses. Though it expresses the creativity and advancement of the criminal mind, it’s a grave crime.
With this news, it will be a new challenge for law enforcement authorities to detect illegal substances, and fans will also suffer because of the use of anime art merchandise that looks like a box.
The operation to detect the illegal transportation was conducted by the undercover police, who disguised themselves as mail carriers. They delivered the package to the Viall Street apartment, where the then-convict Ruiz was reported to have received it and hastily fled to the backyard to catch a Jeep. However, he failed to flee, as the police had detained them before. His partner, Rodriguez, was the other convict.
With the subsequent search warrant, police got their hands on two yellow plastic Pokemon art cases, which were meticulously heat-sealed with plastic. The boxes contained two kilograms of cocaine. This led the authorities to charge the convicts with drug trafficking in excess of 200 grams of cocaine and conspiracy to violate the drug law.
Additionally, with further investigations, the authorities have found that five similar packages had been shipped to the same apartment from Puerto Rico in the last two months. This portrays how challenging it will be for the authorities to detect these types of packages, which are camouflaged with anime art.
It also indicates that the authorities will be more strict with anime fans to prevent these types of criminal activities and ensure that nothing flies under the radar of law enforcement.