The Swindler in the Customs House
A former customs official turned smuggling mastermind uses a fake 'special detective' scheme to trick colleagues and line his own pockets with molasses-filled trunks.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The arrest of E. A. Gardner in Chicago has caused a large sensation in Seattle, especially in customs house circles. As it now appears, Gardner was the head of a gigantic opium-smuggling conspiracy. Before he left the service, he had three employees of the customs house in his pay. Gardner was a smooth operator; while he was in the customs house, he made the opium smuggling business a study. During his incumbency, he claimed more contraband was captured than during all the previous years the custom house had been established. However, it is now believed he was using this as a cover. His scheme involved playing the role of a special detective, leading others to believe he had captured opium and was going to turn it over to the government officers. In reality, he would often swap the genuine drug for trunks filled with a composition of tar and molasses. Detective Whalen has been sent to San Francisco with information growing out of the seizure, as it appears Gardner had two trunks exactly alike, one filled with genuine opium and one with the dummy cans. The supposition is that he intended to bargain a trunk full of genuine opium to some Chinese merchant, and then swindle him by substituting the dummy trunk.
“The smuggling business, successfully carried on, is very profitable, as the drug finds ready sale in San Francisco and other cities here at from $10 to $12 per pound.”
This 1888 smuggling scandal highlights a long-standing tension in Seattle’s history: the city as a gateway for global commerce and the inevitable corruption that thrives in the shadows of its ports. Just as historical figures like Gardner manipulated custom duties for profit, modern port logistics continue to struggle with illicit trade and the enforcement challenges of a busy, interconnected harbor.
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