Illegal weapon parts smuggled from China intercepted by US Customs and Border Protection at O’Hare processing center

CHICAGO (WLS) — Dangerous illegal weapon parts trafficked into the United States through China are being seized at Chicago’s O’Hare international postal processing center by specialized federal officers.

They are cheaply made Chinese-manufactured rifle suppressors and gun switches that have the capability to turn a deadly incident into a massacre.

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The I-Team was there as specialized Customs and Border Protection officers sifted through the thousands of packages looking for those illegal gun components ready to flood Chicago streets.

Specially trained CBP canines help with the process, as officers work to examine shipments from China. They go through thousands of packages disguised and labeled as something other than what is inside.

“We specifically know that it’s coming in from China. And as we pull it out, it’s not your normal manufactured labels,” CBP Officer Robert Holthouse said.

Chief CBP Officer Nadia Varela explained the seizures are part of ramped up investigation of illegal and dangerous gun parts and their buyers.

“Over the last fiscal year, we’ve seen an uptick in the interception of Glock switches, auto series, silencers, all types of contraband coming from China and Hong Kong. So, CBP has chosen to focus on intercepting a lot of these parcels, get them off the streets on the back end,” she said.

Last year alone, CBP Chicago officers seized more than 1,500 Glock switches capable of turning a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic killing machine.

In addition to gun parts, they are netting replica weapons made on 3D printers, which become working untraceable ghost guns.

Officer Holthouse demonstrated how they pick up on suspicious packages.

In one box, a suppressor was disguised as a water pipe.

“The first thing I notice over here is the threads. So, the threads is what goes into the gun itself,” Holthouse said.

Typically mixed in the pile of packages are dozens of illegal gun switches, labeled as “small book” or “stickers.”

Officers also showed the I-Team the targeted packages, which need to be carefully opened for risk of the contraband that could be inside.

Dangerous and illegal drugs are also showing up in shipments.

While shifting through the shipment, in one flimsy envelope, a concerning packet of white power was discovered.

“That could be fentanyl. And one of those little tiny grains could put you on your floor, you know. So, it’s very dangerous,” Holthouse said.

The focus is part of a wide-ranging mission to surreptitiously connect bad-actor Chinese gun-part manufacturers and state-side buyers in a web often shrouded in mystery. CBP officers said there are layers of fabricated facts and bogus manifests.

“Then taking that information and creating links to large organizations, taking that information and going specifically after specific shippers, specific consignees, taking a look at how they’re manifesting their parcels,” Varela said.

CBP told the I-Team federal agents will allow some of those shipments to go through to bust buyers in what’s known as a controlled delivery.

And officers said they’re now also working on a program with canines trained to detect chemicals shipped from China and used in the production of deadly fentanyl.