U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercept nearly 500 pounds of marijuana near Philadelphia
TO MANY WGAL NEWS 8 TODAY STARTS NOW. GOOD MORNING, I’M GABRIELLE THOMAS, ALONGSIDE CHIEF METEOROLOGIST CHRISTINE FERREIRA CHRISTINA. SNOW STORM IS BEHIND US. THAT COLD WE’RE WORRIED ABOUT? IT’S STILL LINGERING. IT’S STILL HANGING AROUND. AND WE’RE NOT GOING TO GET RID OF IT JUST YET. BUT I DO SEE TEMPERATURES GETTING UP TO FREEZING COME TUESDAY. RIGHT NOW. STORM TEAM, LIVE RADAR NETWORK JUST SHOWING A LITTLE BIT OF HIGH CLOUD COVER COMING IN FROM THAT BIG NOR’EASTER OFF SHORE. THAT’S BRINGING THE MID-ATLANTIC SOME SNOW, BUT NOT FOR US. WE DO HAVE A COLD WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10:00 THIS MORNING. SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS YOU COULD SEE SUBZERO WIND CHILLS. ONCE AGAIN. IT’S THE SAME OLD BROKEN RECORD FORECAST. SO THIS MORNING WE’RE WAKING UP WITH TEMPERATURES AROUND 1012 DEGREES IN MOST SPOTS. WE ADD THE WIND THOUGH, WHICH IS BLOWING AT 5 TO 15MPH. IT FEELS LIKE NINE BELOW IN CHAMBERSBURG, FEELS LIKE FOUR BELOW IN LANCASTER, THREE BELOW ZERO IN HARRISBURG AND CARLISLE. SO HERE WE GO AGAIN. IT’S GOING TO BE ANOTHER COLD DAY. IT’S GOING TO BE WINDIER TODAY AS THAT NOR’EASTER PASSES BY, WE SHOULD BE SEEING WIND SPEEDS 15 TO 25MPH SUSTAINED WITH SOME GUSTS TO 35. SO THAT’S JUST GOING TO MAKE IT FEEL LIKE THE SINGLE DIGITS ALL AFTERNOON. DESPITE GETTING TO A HIGH OF 24. WE’LL TALK MORE ABOUT THE SLIGHT WARM-UP COMING UP THIS WEEK, AND A CHANCE FOR A LITTLE BIT OF LIGHT SNOW TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEK. THAT’S COMING UP IN MY FULL FORECAST, KRISTIE. THANK YOU. NOW’S A GOOD TIME TO REMIND YOU TO CLEAR THE SNOW AND ICE OFF YOUR SIDEWALKS. IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE IT ALREADY. NOW, LITTLESTOWN BOROUGH POLICE AND ADAMS COUNTY SAY STARTING TOMORROW, PROPERTY OWNERS WHO HAVE NOT CLEARED THEIR SIDEWALKS WILL BE FINE. IN MOST BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS, YOU HAVE 24 TO 48 HOURS. ONCE THE SNOW STOPS TO CLEAR YOUR SIDEWALK. BUT BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF THIS STORM THAT WE JUST HAD, MANY MUNICIPALITIES DELAYED ENFORCEMENT. AND WHILE YOU’RE OUTSIDE, FIREFIGHTERS WANT TO CHECK THAT FIRE HYDRANTS HAVE BEEN SHOVELED OUT AND DURING AN EMERGENCY, SECONDS COUNT, LANCASTER’S FIRE CHIEF SAYS EVEN IF YOU’VE SEEN THE FIRE HYDRANT CLEARED OFF BEFORE OR IF YOU EVEN DID IT YOURSELF. WITH THIS MUCH SNOW, IT’S IMPORTANT TO KEEP CHECKING. WE’LL START CLEARING THE HYDRANTS AS PLOWS GO THROUGH, AND IT’S A NEVER ENDING PROCESS BECAUSE AS THE CITY PUBLIC WORKS, AS THEY MOVE THAT SNOW BACK TO THE CURB LINE, EACH TIME THEY GO THROUGH, THEY PUSH SNOW A LITTLE FURTHER BACK. FIREFIGHTERS SAY THEY SAVE A LOT OF TIME DURING EMERGENCIES WHEN THE HYDRANT IS CLEARED OFF. WE’RE FOLLOWING BREAKING NEWS OVERNIGHT IN LANCASTER COUNTY. DISPATCHERS SAY CREWS WERE CALLED TO A FIRE AT A BUSINESS ON SOUTH CUSTER AVENUE IN EARL TOWNSHIP. THIS IS IN THE AREA OF ALTON ROAD. NOW, THEY SAY CREWS WERE FIRST CALLED AROUND ONE THIS MORNING. AND IN YORK COUNTY, POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING A MURDER SUICIDE. BROOME COUNTY REGIONAL POLICE SAYS OFFICERS WERE CALLED TO THE SPRING HOLLOW APARTMENTS ON EAST THIRD AVENUE JUST AFTER THREE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. OFFICERS HAVE NOT RELEASED ANY OTHER DETAILS OR THE NAMES OF THE PEOPLE KILLED. THEY SAY THE YORK COUNTY CORONER IS STILL NOTIFYING THE NEXT OF KIN. RIGHT NOW, LANCASTER POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR A MAN WHO THEY SAY SHOT A TEENAGE GIRL ON TUESDAY. OFFICERS SAY IT’S 22 YEAR OLD DARIUS EDMOND. THEY SAY THEY RESPONDED TO A HOME ON SOUTH PEARL STREET AROUND 215 IN THE MORNING. REPORTS OF GUNSHOTS. POLICE SAY THEY FOUND THE VICTIM WITH NON WITH A NON-LIFE THREATENING INJURY. LANCASTER COUNTY MAN IS SET TO SPEND TWO LIFE SENTENCES BEHIND BARS FOR SHOOTING AND KILLING HIS ESTRANGED WIFE AND SISTER IN LAW, AND SHOOTING AND HURTING HIS SON, THE LANCASTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY SAYS. SANTIAGO SANCHEZ PLED GUILTY TO SHOOTING ALL THREE VICTIMS AT HIS HOME ON OAK HOLLOW DRIVE IN WEST HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, BACK ON OCTOBER 5TH. THE DA’S OFFICE SAYS HE WILL SERVE THE SENTENCE WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE. CREWS WERE CALLED TO TWO FIRES, WHICH WE NOW KNOW WERE DEADLY ON FRIDAY NIGHT, FIRST, IN YORK COUNTY, DISPATCHERS SAY THE CALL CAME IN FOR A HOUSE FIRE ON FOXLEY DRIVE IN HANOVER AT A LITTLE BEFORE 9:00. THE CHIEF OF HANOVER AREA FIRE AND RESCUE SAYS CREWS SAW HEAVY SMOKE AND FIRE THROUGH THE BACK ROOF OF A DUPLEX. HE SAYS ONE PERSON WAS FOUND DEAD IN THE HOME AND ANOTHER GOT OUT SAFELY. THREE PEOPLE WERE DISPLACED IN THE FIRE AND THE CHIEF SAYS THIS WAS AN ACCIDENTAL ELECTRICAL FIRE. AND IN FRANKLIN COUNTY, THE FRANKLIN FIRE COMPANY WAS CALLED TO KENNEDY STREET IN MARION JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT FRIDAY FOR FIRE AND A CAMPER. CREWS SAY WHEN THEY ARRIVED, THE CAMPER WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE FIRE COMPANY SAYS ONE PERSON WAS FOUND DEAD INSIDE. THE STATE POLICE FIRE MARSHAL IS STILL INVESTIGATING. WE’RE NOW LEARNING SOME POTENTIAL REASONS WHY THE U.S. FIRE ADMINISTRATION SAYS PENNSYLVANIA HAD MORE FIRE RELATED DEATHS THAN ANY OTHER STATE LAST YEAR. THERE WERE 152 FIRE DEATHS IN 2025. THE GREATER YORK COUNTY PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS UNION SAYS MANY BUILDINGS WERE OLD AND DON’T HAVE UPGRADED ELECTRICAL OR SPRINKLER SYSTEMS. FIREFIGHTERS ALSO SAY SOME BUILDINGS ARE BUILT SO CLOSE TOGETHER THAT IT’S EASIER FOR FIRE TO TRAVEL FROM ONE TO ANOTHER. THE AGE OF OUR POPULATION, WHEN YOU START TO THINK ABOUT PEOPLE GETTING OUT OF FIRES CERTAINLY IS A FACTOR. WHEN YOU’RE LOOKING AT THIS FIRE, COMMISSIONER DUANE HAZELTON SAYS. TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WORKING SMOKE DETECTOR, AVOID FIGHTING A FIRE YOURSELF AND KEEP YOUR DOORS CLOSED TO HELP SLOW DOWN OR STOP THE SPREAD OF THE FIRE THROUGHOUT THE HOME. IN LANCASTER COUNTY, THE MANHEIM TOWNSHIP BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS APPROVED THREE MOTIONS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ITS OWN EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES STAFF. THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS DECIDED IT WOULD HIRE ITS OWN STAFF INSTEAD OF CONTRACTING THE AGENCY OUT. THE BOARD SAYS THAT WILL SAVE THE TOWNSHIP ABOUT $500,000. THE NEW STAFFING MODEL INCLUDES 26 EMTS AND PARAMEDICS, AS WELL AS THREE AMBULANCES WITH TWO PROVIDERS ON EACH BOARD AND THREE DAYTIME ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT PROVIDERS IN THEIR OWN SUV. RESPONDING WITH THOSE AMBULANCES, PLUS FOUR TRANSPORT UNITS. STAFFING IS BASED ON THE CALL VOLUME IN THE TOWNSHIP, WHICH AVERAGES ABOUT 8000 CALLS A YEAR. WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE IS GOING TO ENHANCE AND IMPROVE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE DELIVERY FOR WHEN OUR RESIDENTS HAVE THAT EMERGENCY AND HAVE TO DIAL 911, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO ALSO LOOK AT WHAT MANHEIM TOWNSHIP BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ARE DOING. IT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE IN LANCASTER COUNTY. NO OTHER MUNICIPALITY HAS PROVIDED 100% FUNDING AND BACKING AND SUPPORT TO START AN EMERGENCY. MEDICAL SERVICES ORGANIZATION. MANHEIM TOWNSHIP FIRE RESCUE CHIEF SCOTT LITTLE SAYS THERE’S STILL EQUIPMENT TO BUY, WHICH COULD TAKE UP TO 12 WEEKS STARTING MARCH 1ST. LANCASTER EMS, WARWICK EMS AND PENN STATE LIFELINE WILL HELP DURING THE TRANSITION. THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE THE FULL EMS SERVICE BY NEXT JANUARY. WHILE FOOD HAS THE POWER TO BRING EVERYONE TOGETHER IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY, SO FOOD IS MORE THAN A MEAL, IT’S COMFORT, CULTURE AND CONNECTION TO GENERATIONS OF HISTORY. TO KICK OFF BLACK HISTORY MONTH, I SAT DOWN WITH THE BUSINESS OWNER TO EXPLAIN THE MEANING BEHIND EVERY DISH. A MEAL FROM GRANDMA’S KITCHEN ISN’T JUST FOOD, IT’S A STORY. EVERY DISH IS MADE WITH LOVE ROOTED IN SURVIVAL AND CREATIVITY. THEY WERE IN THEIR MOTHER OR THEIR GRANDMOTHER. WHOMEVER’S KITCHEN, AND THEY PREPARED SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR THEM. THAT’S HOW I WANT THEM TO FEEL. AND FOR JEN HEASLEY, OWNER OF SWEET MAMA’S, THOSE FEELINGS AND THOSE RECIPES TRACED BACK GENERATIONS TO A TIME WHEN COOKING WAS ABOUT MAKING SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING. WITH THE BLACK EYED PEAS, WITH COLLARD GREENS YOU USE LIKE SMOKED MEATS BECAUSE IT PRESERVED THE MEATS, YOU KNOW, FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME. AND WITH THE ENSLAVED PEOPLE, THEY HAD TO FIND A WAY TO HOLD ON TO THE ITEMS THAT WERE PROVIDED. THE SCRAPS, ESSENTIALLY, THOSE SCRAPS AND METHODS TO MAKE FOOD LAST LONGER TURNED INTO RECIPES THAT HELPED HOLD THE BLACK COMMUNITY TOGETHER. EVEN WHEN THE JOURNEY TO FREEDOM. I THINK AT THAT TIME, YOU KNOW, YOU GO THROUGH A MARCH OR YOU GO THROUGH THESE DIFFICULT TIMES AND PEOPLE CAN GATHER TOGETHER OVER FOOD THAT THEY FELT COMFORTED BY, THEY FELT WAS WHO THEY ARE. AND I THINK THAT’S WHAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY. THAT SAME SENSE OF TOGETHERNESS LIVES ON IN YORK AT CENTRAL MARKET, WHERE HEASLEY IS CREATING COMMUNITY AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS ON THE HISTORY BEHIND THE PLATE, THE SENSE OF PRIDE THAT I KNOW THAT PEOPLE SACRIFICED FOR ME TO, YOU KNOW, TO EVEN BE IN THIS POSITION JUST THROUGH CIVIL RIGHTS TO ALL OF IT. IT DOES GIVE ME A GREAT SENSE OF PRIDE. AND EVEN WHEN THE DAYS GET TOUGH AND THE LINES ARE SHORT, MAYA ANGELOU’S QUOTE THAT I QUOTED THIS WAS BE THE RAINBOW IN SOMEBODY ELSE’S CLOUD, AND I FEEL LIKE FEEDING PEOPLE CAN BE A RAINBOW IN SOMEONE ELSE’S CLOUD, AND I FEEL LIKE IT AGAIN. YOU COULD BE HAVING A BAD DAY, AND THEN YOU’RE LIKE, OH MY GOSH, FOOD CAN BE UPLIFTING. EACH WEEK. THIS MONTH ON NEWS EIGHT AT FIVE WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING THE BLACK COMMUNITY HERE IN THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY AS PART OF OUR PROJECT COMMUNITY SERIES. TWO NEW EXHIBITS FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH ARE NOW OPEN AT A LANCASTER ART GALLERY. THE EXHIBITS ARE EXPRESSIONS OF STRENGTH, A CELEBRATION OF BLACK ART AND IDENTITY, AND THE OTHER IS CALLED GRANDMA’S WALLS. THE EXHIBITS HAVE A MIX OF VISUAL ARTISTS AND POETS, PARTIALLY CURATED BY PENNSYLVANIA NATIVE LINWOOD SLOAN. BOTH ARE AVAILABLE TO S
U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercept nearly 500 pounds of marijuana near Philadelphia
Updated: 3:53 PM EST Feb 1, 2026
U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted nearly 500 pounds of marijuana near Philadelphia last month. Video above: Top stories, weather from WGAL News 8. During routine inspections on Jan. 6, officers checked a shipping container headed from the U.S. to England that contained 80 boxes of what looked like clothing. When they opened a box, officers found marijuana in a vacuum-sealed bag. Out of the 80 boxes in the shipping container, seven contained marijuana. Officers found 405 vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana in total that were labeled with unique names such as Runtzberry, Joker Candy, Galactic Gas, Mega Cherries and Blue Zooties. The drugs weighed a combined 481 pounds, and officers say the street value was $2.4 million in the U.S. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officers receive an average of 1,571 pounds of drugs every day at different ports of entry.
PHILADELPHIA —
U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted nearly 500 pounds of marijuana near Philadelphia last month.
Video above: Top stories, weather from WGAL News 8.
During routine inspections on Jan. 6, officers checked a shipping container headed from the U.S. to England that contained 80 boxes of what looked like clothing.
When they opened a box, officers found marijuana in a vacuum-sealed bag.
Out of the 80 boxes in the shipping container, seven contained marijuana.
Officers found 405 vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana in total that were labeled with unique names such as Runtzberry, Joker Candy, Galactic Gas, Mega Cherries and Blue Zooties.
The drugs weighed a combined 481 pounds, and officers say the street value was $2.4 million in the U.S.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officers receive an average of 1,571 pounds of drugs every day at different ports of entry.