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87 stories matching smuggler
- The Lone Guard of Deception Pass
A maritime guard single-handedly outwits smugglers in a high-stakes standoff on the islands of the Sound.
- The Midnight Opium Bust at the Lincoln House
A routine patrol turns into a high-stakes capture when an officer mistakes suspected smugglers for burglars on a Seattle street corner.
- Tacoma’s Floating Border: 142 Chinese Passengers Ordered Back Aboard the Mogul
A Northern Pacific steamer brought 242 Chinese travelers to Tacoma in 1893. Collector Wesson admitted 100, stretched a World’s Fair loophole for 32 actors, and ordered the rest deported—while smugglers counted the cost.
- The Smuggler Who Ran a School for Contraband
A smuggler caught near Sumas taught Chinese immigrants American geography to help them evade border officers.
- A Smuggler’s Brassy Boast at the Custom House
A smuggler brazenly enters the Seattle Custom House while intoxicated, bragging to officials about moving people into the country illegally.
- The 'Mosquito Fleet' Gears Up to Patrol the Sound
A new revenue cutter, the Sybil, joins the effort to clamp down on smugglers navigating the complex and intricate channels of the Washington coast.
- The Rogue of the Sound
A smuggler on the Puget Sound recounts a brutal night of human trafficking and violence, offering a chilling glimpse into the lawless reality of the 1880s maritime border.
- The Midnight Landing at Smith's Cove
When dozens of Chinese laborers were smuggled into Seattle via a frigid landing at Smith’s Cove in 1892, a frantic, city-wide pursuit ensued.
- The Opium Smuggling Trap
A Seattle man accused of opium trafficking convinces a jury he was actually working as a government informant to expose a crooked customs inspector.
- The Opium Runners of Port Townsend
Customs inspectors engage in a high-stakes boat chase after catching smugglers unloading contraband in the dead of night.
- The Opium Smuggler of the Union Depot
A traveler posing as a hardware salesman is arrested in Spokane after authorities discover 1,300 pounds of contraband in his luggage.
- The Abduction of a Lighthouse Keeper's Son
A mysterious robbery at the Admiralty Head light station left a 16-year-old boy missing and officials suspecting passing opium smugglers or indigenous travelers.
- The Opium Smuggler of Second Street
A diligent customs officer tracks a young man and his illicit cargo to a local rooming house.
- The Wrong Chin Quong: A Smuggling Case Collapses in Seattle
Federal officers arrested the manager of Wa Chong & Co. as an opium smuggler, but Portland witnesses took one look and said he was the wrong man—while the real suspect sailed for China.
- The Shadowy Death of Charles Smith
A suspected opium smuggler dies by his own hand in the Puyallup reservation jail, leaving behind a cryptic note that hints at corruption and a hidden fortune in contraband.
- The Revenue Cutter 'Black Pup' Intercepts Smugglers
Federal authorities captured a launch near Whidbey Island, but the white smugglers escaped into the night, leaving eight Chinese laborers behind.
- The Notorious Smuggler’s Final Nap
A legendary Pacific Coast opium runner was caught fast asleep near Custer after a run-in with immigration inspectors hunting for laborers.
- The Opium Evil: How 48 Cans Slipped Past Seattle's Customs Inspector
In 1877, a Seattle paper raged about opium smuggling, corruption in the revenue service, and a den where 'white men, Chinese and Indians' met—a racist panic that echoes today's drug crises.
- The Carpenter's Secret Compartment
A crafty smuggler’s hollowed-out tool chest, designed to look like the property of a humble working man, fails to outsmart Seattle Customs inspectors.
- The Great Seattle Opium Double-Cross
A Victoria capitalist sues his smugglers for replacing high-grade opium with sawdust and molasses, revealing a bungled customs heist that captivated Seattle.
- The Shadow Trade at Nooksack River
A government agent describes the precarious intersection of logging, displacement, and the illicit opium trade on the Lummi Reservation.
- Smuggling Ring Exposed at Port Townsend
A customs inspector is accused of taking bribes to let opium cross the border, revealing a deeper scandal within the agency.
- The Nervous Trunk: How an Inspector's Hunch Caught a Seattle Opium Smuggler
A traveler's strange devotion to his luggage tipped off a customs officer, leading to eighty tins of prepared opium and a suspect who begged to be 'let down easy.'
- The Opium Smuggler of the 'City of Kingston'
A Port Angeles woman is arrested for running a profitable cross-border smuggling operation.
- The Whidbey Island Smuggling Chase
Customs officials miss a boatload of undocumented Chinese immigrants by an hour, highlighting the cat-and-mouse game on the Puget Sound.
Also about this, in other words
- The Smuggler Who 'Skipped' Town
After her arrest for opium smuggling, Hattie Hastings of Port Angeles has vanished, leaving the community debating her innocence and her connection to a larger criminal ring.
- The Green Smuggler and the Tricky Trunk
A novice opium smuggler is nabbed in Puyallup after his anxious behavior at the train station tipped off the local police chief.
- The 'Smuggled Goods' Confidence Trick
Two men were jailed after attempting to sell cheap, domestically-sourced goods to the local postmaster under the guise of smuggled contraband.
- The Opium Smuggler of the City of Kingston
A baggage master is caught red-handed smuggling forty-five pounds of opium, but the customs inspector he tried to bribe was playing a double game.
- The Opium Smuggler of Port Townsend
A ship steward is arrested and held on high bond after customs agents discover a hidden stash of opium on his person and in his cabin.
- Smugglers to Face Federal Grand Jury
Two men accused of transporting Chinese passengers via sloop await trial in Tacoma following their arrest by the revenue cutter Arcata.
- The Slave Smuggler's Lie: A Seattle Sailor’s Close Call on the Congo
In a gripping first-person account reprinted in local papers, a young American sailor recounts his terrifying encounter with a slave ship off the coast of Africa, where he nearly fell for a deceitful mate's story to avoid a deadly confrontation.
- The Revenue Cutter Steward’s Opium Cache
A longtime employee of the U.S. revenue cutter 'Oliver Wolcott' is arrested for smuggling opium from British Columbia, exposing a decade-long secret life.