Ordering from overseas...

[Red Beret]

Just wondering if anyone from outside the US has ordered naughty things such as stun guns and pepper spray (or other illegal goods) to thier country?

Some of these US companies claim to ship discreetly, but I'm wondering what difference it makes really.

If you have tried, succesfully or not, please post. Let me know of the method you used, and maybe who from. By method I mean; did you get the item sent to a vacant house, PO box under false ID etc, and if you got busted, what happened? Any tips/ideas are also welcome.

Theres some great stuff for sale online, shame it's illegal. I will not be breaking any of my countries laws, I'm just curious as to the effectiveness of customs.

Cheers.

[Emil]

Yeh I would also like to hear of some stories or experiences about this kind of thing. I can't really see how a company can say that they can deliver discreetly. At the end of the day they are required to declare the exact contents of the package they are sending. So unless they are a bit of a crooked company who kind of know they are being a bit naughty, they will most probably will state exactly what is in the package be it chocolate or explosives. You will most likely find some where on their shops site that it states it "accepts no responsibility for misuse of goods, or for the legallity of the product in other countries."
In other words when the customs guys open it up and finds out something illeagal, they won't be bothered in bugging the company who sent it, they are coming to visit the convinient address which has kindly been left on the package :D.

I would really like to know a bit more about how the customs works. I know they differ slighty from country to country but the overall operations would interest me greatly. The shear amount of packages and parcels that are sent through the world every day makes my mind wonder how they cope with such a high volume. Is every package checked via means of x-ray or some other device?? Does the origin and character of the business who sent the item have some part to play? (In other words they aren't going to be checking parcels sent from music stores, but they may be very interested in ones sent from chemical supply companies).

We know they have the legal right to open your package if they see it in their interest. Why would they want to open a package though, surely their technologies allow them to basically see the inside out of a package without removing it's outter shell. Or maybe they only pass the packages through an x-ray machine which would obviously only show up certain materials, thus needed futher investigation?

Like Red beret said, surely if you were to order something illeagal the best idea would be to get it delivered to a vacant address using a false ID, or some address which your name is not really directly involved with.

[festergrump]

First of all, there's a big difference between shipping discreetly and blatantly disobeying a country's import laws.

Shipping discreetly 99.9% of the time means shipping in a plain package with a shipping label that really doesn't give much info about their company (ie: "Foxx Enterprises, Inc" as opposed to "Foxx Pepperspray Supply Co.". Just an example).

Most American companies would rather cut out an entire countries sales posibilities rather than unknowingly break a countries laws which they may be held liable for. They just don't want to take the chance nor do they want to pay someone just to research and keep up with other countries' laws and regulations just to make a sale. PLUS, they'd have to transfer the currency from yours to theirs and all that bother on top of it.

Best bet is to make friends with someone from the country whose wares you'd like to buy, talk them into making the straw purchase for you, having them prove the shipping of the item by an insurance receipt photocopy in an email, then being able to humbly eat the entire cost if/when your item get confiscated by customs. It's just the risk one must take for such matters. Of course, you'd never claim the insurance or you'd be busted. It'd be for proof of shipment only, and who doesn't insure their packages for so cheap a cost anymore?

It probably happens all the time, but figure alot of it never makes it to it's destination. Careful packaging would be the key here...

[Red Beret]

I guess it's kind of like a lucky dip. Find a vacant house (impossible where I am) and keep trying until the item(s) get through.

Or as festergump said, make friends with someone in the country of interest and enlist their help. That too is hard though, due to issues of trust etc, and if you havent actually been to the country and met the person, this method is probably best avoided.

Having said that, they could easily disguise, for example, the electrical circuitry of a stun gun with regular electrical circuit boards and such.

Same with pepper spray, could be hidden among regular lubricant cans, with the pepper spray label removed and replaced to match the others.

One can pay via international money order, and make any comunications via email, set up and accessed from a computer at a local library or similar.

[s255]

A friend of mine posted home a telescopic baton, some knives, and machetes and such from the USA. All got through with no problem that he could notice when he inspected the parcels. My friend put them in a parcel that contained some books and just neglected to mention the baton.

I am not so sure about things such as firearms I doubt they would work so simply but from the point of view of the Post Office, I doubt they would stop a baton or stun gun unless you were very unlucky. There are companies online that say they ship internationally, and assuming they are not complete cons I would imagine you should get your goods.

[Red Beret]

By "home", which country are you refering to?

[mike-hunt]

Hears a site that claims to deliver stun guns successfully overseas by selling them in two parts, the case, and the electronics I haven't ordered from them as it sounds a bit like a scam but the technique sounds good if you have contacts over seas or are on vacation Http://www.safetynow.com/stunkit1.htm

As for posting objects overseas it would be hard to prove legally that you ordered or posted the goods your self as long as you use an anonymous payment method . It is not illegal to receive mail.( Maybe some one with better knowledge of law could correct me if I am wrong on this.)

Hear is some items that have successfully past through Australian customs. Plant based Drugs in the form of dried cactus and fungi and even seeds they arrived labeled incense.
Gun parts - firing pins ,springs ,barrel liners, rifled chamber adapters, wooden pistol grips , laser sights and a flare gun all these came by regular post. Also flick knives and butterfly knives have been imported in checked airport luggage I have not herd of any items being stopped , fines or criminal charges being laid witch leads me to believe Australian customs is not as thorough as they would like us to believe.

****************

-Hear != Here
-Herd != Heard
-Witch != which

As in, "I heard the herd coming here, but now I hear a witch eating them, which is unusual."

Get your grammar in shape, or have the ban-witch eat your account.

-Hinckleyforpresident

[festergrump]

It is not illegal to receive mail.(Maybe some one with better knowledge of law could correct me if I am wrong on this).

I'll correct you on this regarding US matters, anyway. It is sometimes the practice of US postmasters to open and inspect a package's contents then reseal and send it on it's way, all to allow ample time for the package to arrive at it's destination and be opened. If you opened it, you are now in "possession" of it. It's now yours whether you ordered it or not. Doesn't matter what it is. It has been transfered via a network which is federally regulated (interstate or internationally), therefore answerable to federal regulations. I doubt many other "civilized" countries are much different in this day and age.

Best thing to do when and if you receive a package of questionable contents is NOT open it. Wait until a week or two goes by first. If you feel your package is not surveiled (or yourself under scrutiny for any reason at all) open it then. If you feel at any way hokey about it... wait but keep it around all the same. When the postmaster or his/her fed underlings show up at your door asking about the delivery... present to them the unopened package. Make THEM open it, even if they ask you to open it in front of them.

They'll have ways of knowing if you reopened their re-packaging work or not. If you didn't tamper with it, you're in the clear, that is if they're not just looking for a reason to make your life miserable and work you over with an expensive legal process.

[s255]

By "home", which country are you refering to?

Sorry for not clarifying that in my post. He posted it to the Republic of Ireland.

[JamieBond]

I've ordered from guns2u.com plenty of times, from CS gas to blank guns (now a Cat5 firearm in the UK) all got through fine. Only trouble I've had is when I imported a load of blank ammo, it got opened but was resealed and sent on it's way.

[Red Beret]

Very interesting.

I suppose, based on the above posts, one could have the item(s) mailed to a friend under a false name, or a vacant house, and pay via an anonymous method. The only problem I can see with the vacant house is if they require a signature, and wont leave it without one. You would then have to go to the depot and possibly produce ID.

Or you can have someone in the items country dismantle and repack the goods.

Mike Hunt; I will have a look at the stun gun kit, though I do recall having a company claiming to do this refuse to ship to me.

[Emil]

Well I suppose the biggest problem with getting it delivered to a vacant house is that it would probably help temporarily living inside it, which means you would need access to it. No keys? You would have to break in which causes a problem in itself. I mean it's not like you could just stay out on the lawn until the package arrived, as you wouldn't know when it was turning up.

Unless you have access to an asociates flat or place while he or she is away, There could be problems behind this idea. The ID bit wouldn't be too much of a problem. Even if they do ask to see it when you collect it, making a fake ID for this situation shouldn't be to hard. I mean quality is not a problem, most of the time they only look at it quickly and that is through the clear plastic wallet of your wallet. I usually show my drivers license, but I imagine you could get away showing a less significant type of ID. Even maybe your library card :D. Only has to have your name on it.

But again unless you have got access to the premises you are not going to be able to do this anyway, as they put the slip to say "We tried to deliver but you were out" through the letterbox. Even if the house was empty, how are you meant to collect the slip when it is on the other side of the door??

[colniko]

Mail forwarding may be the way to go. It's not exactly cheap though. If you look hard enough you can find companies that will allow you to setup an account online with minimal information. You will have a real street address as opposed to a PO box and with some companies you can select the country and perhaps even the state in which you have the mailbox. They can receive and sign for packages and letters and will box it all up and resend it out to the address you specify.

[Red Beret]

The problem with mail forwarding is, if the powers that be really want to get you for the package, they will just wait and see where the end destination is ie; your house.

And if it is busted by customs they will just lean on the company until they give up your home address.

[Emil]

Yeh I think what he meant was to basically get the mail company to forward it to the vacant address, this way you could pick your day you wanted your package to be delivered, and you could lay low somewhere around the property, keeping an eye out for the delivery man. Then when he arrives, just stroll around to the front of the property, maybe pretend you are doing some work in the garden. Greet him well and he probably won't think twice, sign for your package, there you go. Load up and you are off.

Obviously it is choosing a perfect destination where you are not overly exposed to neighbours and surrounding properties which are likely to notice some random person strolling within the grounds. Otherwise the person who arrives first will probably be a curious pig, and you might not be there to collect your package.

The only other problem with this mail forwarding is to find a company who do not want to many personal details and such. Royal mail are a no no, on their website it states what is needed identification wise, and it's pretty much everything short of a DNA sample, a finger print and a blood sample. :D

It would be tricky, but could certainly be done.

[Alexires]

I have talked with a friend of mine who works for customs. He reckons that there is no way that they scan ever shipping container that comes in. Sydney docks are open 24/7 and have a thousand shipping containers at any given time. Unless they get a tip off, or randomly see something bad, then they won't go in.

Your best bet would be to get someone to simply remove the electronics, stick it in some kind of other electronic device and ship it via surface mail. Get them to send the casing separately perhaps, or even in the same container. As long as nothing looks suspicious, it should get through ok.

You could always use a residence where you know that the people are going on holiday for a while.

[Red Beret]

Thanks for the info Alexires. I was looking at cell phone stun guns today, they look very realistic, but I guess they wouldn't pack as much punch as a full size one.

They'd have a greater chance of getting through though.

[Alexires]

You could always pull one apart a little and replace bits to make it more of a "Show stopper".

Then again, if you are going to do that, you might as well build your own one.

[colniko]

I would have to agree with Alexires regarding building your own. If you live in a country that will not allow the import of a stun gun, you may want to just build your own. I personally have not built one, but the plans I have seen on youtube using simple to get parts and using a capacitor from a disposable camera seem relatively easy enough.

As far as when I suggested the mail forwarding.. that would more so be for ongoing deliveries and/or higher dollar dealing. Spending $150 for a mailbox, then $25 to have it forwarded to your actual address (or if you are smart, another mailbox that is local to you but would again be another $150) and all for a $50 stun gun would be amazingly stupid. Unless of course its simply a proof of concept and you have extra money to spend on testing out idea's.

Just to comment on the idea of sending to a vacant house. I don't like the idea at all. First off, how many of us realistically know of a truly vacant house in our area? Secondly, even if you do, you would still have to test it to make sure mail is not being redirected to another address. Is someone picking up the mail from that location on occasion? Do the neighbors know who should and shouldn't be there?

Unless you get a tracking number with the order to be able to see exactly when it is being delivered, it seems like a huge hit or miss situation. And chances are, the mailman knows the place is vacant too and will find it very suspicious that now that address is receiving a box.

Just my two cents, which is probably not worth much to anybody.

[Emil]

Colniko, the whole point of the mail forwarding system would be a complete waste of time if you are just going to be sending it to your address. There's no point adding a middleman for no reason, you would just get it delivered directly. The overall concept is security from the forces that be and I think this is why this is being discussed. The mail forwarding would add no advantage, because like an above member stated, if they really wanted to know the recipitent, they would just lean on the mailing company for your details.

OK the vacant house situation isn't ideal, but if the person is willing to try and have the goods delivered straight to your front door, then they obviously aren't that bothered in the first place. Lets not just limit the situation to stun guns. I would hardly believe this to be worthy to cause you alot of hassle from a security point of view. If they discovered it and it wasn't legal in your area, they would probably simply just conviscate it. Say you are having something more incriminating delivered, like chemicals of some sort. You do not want them turning up at your address because if they are somewhat interested in the goods, the delivery man might not be the only man turning up on your doorstep.

To be honest, the postal man/woman probably wouldn't blink twice at the vacant house situation. Lets be honest here, postal workers probably deliver to 100+ houses a day, you really think they are actually paying any attention to anything beyond dropping the mail off. Half the ones you come across have a walkman in their ear piece listening to music and don't even seem to be paying any thought to their surroundings. It's almost like they are robots programmed to seak the letterbox. I dunno how it is where you live, but around here, even if the house is empty, tonnes of mail is still delivered through the door every day. For over a year after we moved into to our current house we were still recieving bits of the previous womans post, who was living at a different address. See how vigilant the postal service is??? :D

The best thing would be to really have access to a place while they may be away, like Alexires said. This way you could have a little more security and could even collect the card dropped through, and go collect at your own time.

[festergrump]

To be honest, the postal man/woman probably wouldn't blink twice at the vacant house situation. Lets be honest here, postal workers probably deliver to 100+ houses a day, you really think they are actually paying any attention to anything beyond dropping the mail off. Half the ones you come across have a walkman in their ear piece listening to music and don't even seem to be paying any thought to their surroundings. It's almost like they are robots programmed to seak the letterbox. I dunno how it is where you live, but around here, even if the house is empty, tonnes of mail is still delivered through the door every day. For over a year after we moved into to our current house we were still recieving bits of the previous womans post, who was living at a different address. See how vigilant the postal service is??? :D

You seem to be completely missing the point with this paragraph. Alexires may have inside information on bulk shipping containers, but do you think for one second that this is the end of the line for surveilance of parcels?

The persons who deliver the packages are the very least of your worries. They are not trained to ask questions or to determine if a recipient is telling the truth ot not. They have no authority or a badge or even a gun. The Postal Inspector does, though. And he/she/it does have federal authority.

So the overseas shipping container scan comes out fruitless, then it goes en route to a centralized hub. There it's content gets broken down via zipcode to be delivered to it's destination via OTR transit. It arrives at the hub closest the recipient. It is then ultimately put then into a package car for delivery.

How many times has this parcel been scrutinized by imaging technology before it gets delivered to your door by a monkey who can drive a van? If such a parcel throws up red flags will it be opened, resealed, then sent on it's way, with an entourage of agents closely tracking it if is is something of worth for the feds to bust you on.

THAT'S the point I am trying to make.

What would they do to you if you attempted to have a stungun delivered to your door if such a thing were illegal for civilians to own right now? Probably fine you and put you on some kind of probation, right? Probably the same for pepperspray or a baton, but somehow I think more for a Taser.

I dunno, folks. I'm also of the mind that building one of whatever would be your best and least expensive or worrisome bet no matter what the contents of the parcel. Even firearms are not brain surgery to build.

[Alexires]

Fester - Certainly see what you are saying. I personally wouldn't use a postal service anyway. Courier is the way to go. No ID, just sign on the dotted line.

I don't know much about couriers, but I have had friends that have had interesting things delivered by them. Not illegal, mind you, but things that certainly would get a few questions asked (swords, etc.).

I would imagine that if you went via courier, and your parcel made it past the general screening at the docks (surface mail of course, air mail is a whole new ball game), then you would have very little to worry about.

All you would need to do would be find a vacant house (abandoned or otherwise), tell the courier service to give you a time for your delivery (working or some shit like that) and tell a homeless dude you'll give him $50 to sign for your parcel for you. $10 now, $40 on him handing the parcel over. If the pork swoop down and open a can on him, you bail out. He tries to make off with the goods, you "take" them back. He does as you ask, you give him the $50.

The most dangerous part would be when he gives the parcel to you. You would need to have enough time between him getting it, and him giving it to you for you to know it is clean, but to make it worth his time.

[colniko]

I have never been one for back and forth banter over trivial things, so I will end my "debate" with a simple explanation, then from there, your on your own.

Unless I missed something, the original post was simply asking how someone might get an item delivered to a country that company X wont typically deliver to. Am I way off so far?

From the posts I have read on this forum, it seems the common theme is no one here likes to have to spoon feed answers to people, but in the off chance that my long drawn out post wasn't clear enough, here is an attempt:

You live in Orwellienville and the laws are very strict. NO stunguns! Company X has an online order ability but wont ship to Orwellienville. So, you setup a mail forwarding service with MailForwarders-R-Us which is based out of Kansas. Oh, and guess what? Kansas CAN in fact receive shipments from Company X. Perfect! MailForwarders-R-Us account is setup and provides you with a real street address and all, and they will ship out your packages as you specify: be it weekly, monthly, etc. And how do they do this? They simply take your mail and/or packages and place them in yet another box and simply forward it along to the address you specify, thus removing Company X's name from the outside. So if we are talking International shipments, I don't think a single stungun is going to have the CIA tracking your package to Bumfuck Thailand to bust you for receiving a stungun. I could be wrong though.

As for how to get anonymous mail? If you have been reading this forum for any amount of time and you cant figure out how to Finagel or Social Engineer yourself an anonymous box or a fake ID or etc... well, I dont know to tell ya. Choose another hobby.

I am waiting for the "what if" about the box going to your real address and getting in trouble. Guess what, chances are, if it gets nabbed at customs and they really want ya, they are gonna get ya! You really think that if you have it sent to some random house, and they REALLY want to know who gets it, you are gonna be so slick as to outsmart a surveillance team? So this box is delivered to the vacant house... how ya going to get it?? And when ya do, they are going to get you!

Risk Vs Reward. Think smarter, not harder.

As I am sure I am going to get flamed for my sarcasm or perhaps some other over-thinker is going to "what if" the shit out of the above, have at it, I aint biting.

Amen! Heh

[Cobalt.45]

A possible ploy for receiving goods that you'd rather not have come to your abode directly is this:

You cultivate a "receiver" by intentionally mis-addressing mail to go to someone who doesn’t know you.

On the day before or day of the anticipated delivery of the first post sent to this address, you would go there and say it had just been brought to your attention that there may be mail intended for you sent to this address by mistake due to a transposed street number.:o This is when you establish yourself as whomever you are going to be addressing the mail to.

Upon receiving this first “misdirected” post, you apologetically offer them a 6-pack or a ten dollar bill for their trouble. Mentioning that there may be another misdirected post already in the mail so you’d be checking back in case the "address correction":rolleyes: had been put in too late. This second post would be the “contraband”.:cool:

You’d want to covertly observe the delivery and receipt of the 2nd. package to be sure there was no take-down of the dupe by LE.

Disclaimer- There may well be flaws w/this idea. It is proposed to add to the discussion of ideas to safely receive items in the mail.

[Emil]

Fester:

I am not missing the point with that paragraph, maybe it should of been worded slightly different. I am NOT condeming the efficiency of the entire postal service, I was merley making a point to Colniko that the mail guy who delivers it to the door doesn't and wouldn't know if the property has been abandoned for 2 years, or it has a thriving family of 6 inside.
I was actually confirming the need to not have some package which may have something illeagal delivered to your front door.

In your country possibly the discovery of a stun gun, on it's way to a state which it is illeagal is quite a big deal, which gets dealt with accordingly. Over here a stun gun would probably hardly cause that much of a bother, due to the somewhat useless justice system we have in place. They would just simply conviscate it I imagine and you would have just wasted your money. Something more serious and you would probably have the attention of alot more. Personally, either way I wouldn't get anything delivered to my front door, knowing it was illeagal in any way. It is just asking for trouble.

Cobalt:

That is actually quite a good idea. Most people are quite reasonable, and if it happens to be some average person of the community,this would be quite an understandable mistake. You could use a number of variations for your excuse for the mishap. "I live in 5 Caesar Drive, and I made a mistake while ordering and had it delivered to 5 Caesar Close." Etc.
You could just say you did it online on their website, and until recently checking the receipt, you realised that you had types in the wrong address. A small gester would get things flowing nicely in this situation, and you could simply check back after the delivery has been made.

[festergrump]

Yes, I see your point too, Emil. No disrespect was intended. I do have a pretty good grasp on things of this nature having worked in the shipping industry's many aspects of it from a shipping container package loader to a few companies' shipping manager to an OTR driver for a few other companies. I have also had some very shady friends who dabbled a bit in this covert trade of "getting things" to other people in the past.

I like Cobalt's straight forward approach. It just may work a time or two, though you really should know the "duped" and how they might react first better than a complete stranger. I wouldn't do it to an unsuspecting friend, but an occasional acqaintance... maybe a friendly coworker who undeservingly got promoted instead of you? Hmmmmm....

[Edit: Scratch that. If you work with them you may have to explain too much. I do like the idea, though, and think it warrants some more thought.]

[Emil]

That's fine don't worry. Yes previous working experiences are always very handy for future needs. Even when you don't realise it, you are learning little bits of handy information that will someday possibly be of use.

I wouldn't do it to an unsuspecting friend, but an occasional acqaintance... maybe a friendly coworker who undeservingly got promoted instead of you? Hmmmmm....

I like this, a little bit of revenge. That could be quite a way to get someone back actually, as long as your not intending showing your face and collecting it. Just order a few kgs of Red phosphorous or some other nasty clandestine related chemical, put it in their name and their address. ;)

This idea most surely has some merit though, it would just be picking the right target and location.

[Red Beret]

I had actually thought of the idea of having it sent to a wrong adress before. The fact you have too Cobalt .45, makes me think it could be quite a solid idea, with a bit of tweaking.

Also I like the idea of having it sent to a known person, under their name. If they get busted (and you don't like them), cool. If it gets through, great. How to retreive it though? It wouldn't be too hard I guess.

We've generated quite a bit of healthy discussion on this.

Hehe, *evil thought*, have it sent to the innocent old lady down the road, she will likely believe any BS story given to her. Offer to have a cup of tea or something with her. Most elderly folk would love a bit of attention and will gladly chat with and help a stranger, they don't care usually, as long as they have someone to talk to.

[Cobalt.45]

I admit the idea of purposefully sending an illegal/red flag item to a "deserving" party had not crossed my mind... but I likey! Kind of a twist of ordering ten pizzas sent to an antagonist.:D

But I really like the deal Red Beret mentions, where you befriend some poor elderly shut-in, even if you ARE using them. God knows, the deplorable way the elderly get treated in this day and age is nothing short of fucking deplorable, best I not get started in re this.

It kinda evens out the karma for duping them ITFP. And, if you brighten the otherwise depressing day of some poor soul (I'm soft, I know:p), all the better, IMO. And, they wouldn't be anywhere near as likely to take a fall for the contents of the post, should LE be aware of it.

Like festergrump said, it wouldn't be an on-going operation, likely would only work a time or two w/the same address/individual.

The only real prob. I see with the "abandoned house" ploy, is that YOU have to be the initial recipient. If there's surveillance, you will likely get nipped.

Possibly, the better choice might be an ordinary person and not a shut-in. If LE does a background on the recipient, an old lady would look like a ruse and they might just wait on you to show up, after having questioned the oldster as to their participation.

An individual who is a "regular" person would be viewed as the perpetrator, although a dumb one, by LE and would be taken down as soon as the parcel was delivered and sufficient time elapsed for the package to be opened. They should't know you prior to the delivery , else they would surely turn you in. Because of your initial visit, they would have a description of your looks, but by being careful, that's about ALL they would have to give to LE.

[festergrump]

Daily Herald headline (above the fold):

ELDERLY BEWARE!

A new wave of Terror is sweeping the streets of America lately. Apparently terrorists are now smuggling weapons into the country under the guise of befriending the elderly with promises of tea, crumpets, and good conversation-- All to exploit them for their mailing addresses where their terroristic cohorts can send them weapons of mass destruction undetectedly while the unwitting victims casually sip their beverages and share personal life stories with their attackers. [continued on page 5]

:rolleyes: LOL! :D

Seriously now... this is an awesome idea! And the great part about it is that most elderly have some truly fantastic stories to tell, so you're not bored while you wait or have to pretend to work the yard or anything similar... Brilliant!

Possibly, the better choice might be an ordinary person and not a shut-in. If LE does a background on the recipient, an old lady would look like a ruse and they might just wait on you to show up, after having questioned the oldster as to their participation.

But in your defense, you are just there as a concerned citizen who cares for the elderly after you witnessed firsthand the atrocities inflicted on some of them in various retirement homes you recently did volunteer work at (is my halo showing yet?). Certainly the name on the package would not match the ID in your wallet, right? "She must be mistaken, officer. I'm Joe Blow from Cocomo. Package? What package?"

[Emil]

:D Now that made me chuckle.

Now the only problem I see with a "regular" person, is lets be honest here. A package that turns up at your house awaits you with curiousity, it is much more exciting that a normal letter which you know is going to be a bill or a piece of junk mail. This means they are going to open it up almost instantly.
The main problem I see with this is that the person who is the target may actually take your item and claim it as theirs. then when you turn up they may just possibly deny it and write off your story, then what can you do?? Nothing. The other possible route is they deem the contents as suspicious and then report it. It all depends what type of person is occupying the address, and that is really quite important for the outcome of the situation.

This is the main problem I see with waiting to possibly avoid any LE interaction. By the time you go back to claim your lost package, it could be long out of your reach. I mean come on, say it's chemicals and the old lady opens it up and sees some white powder, you can bet your right foot that she is going to report it. I believe it is necessary to intercept the package before the contents are opened. Even if it means possibly visiting the person before the package is delivered. "Sorry to bother you there but I have made a mistake, You should be recieving a package of mine within the next week." Etc. You get the overall idea, this way when the package turns up they don't open it as they will know.

Unfortuanetly in this type of situation, you have to trade a little bit of security, for the success of the whole operation.

Over here in the UK, the houses all have letter boxes on the actual door, meaning when your post gets delivered, it comes through your front door onto your hallway. If it is something to big for the box, they knock on the door. In the US, dont you have like seperate post boxes out by the bottom of the front lawn, or is that only in certain places???

[Cobalt.45]

A while ago (post-9/11 and the anthrax through-the-mail scare) I heard that the USPS as well as the local utilities and even the cable companies were put on alert, either by mandate or voluntarily, to be on the look-out for nefarious goings-ons. I would not want to bet the farm that the (apparently) brain-dead mail carrier was not up for blowing in a suspicious delivery on THEIR turf.

Even if it means possibly visiting the person before the package is delivered. "Sorry to bother you there but I have made a mistake, You should be recieving a package of mine within the next week." Etc. You get the overall idea, this way when the package turns up they don't open it as they will know.Damn, I with I'd have thought of that! LOL But that you came up w/the idea independently shows there might be some merit in it...

But in your defense, you are just there as a concerned citizen who cares for the elderly... Certainly the name on the package would not match the ID in your wallet, right?... Package? What package?"You are absolutely right, fester. I had not seen this angle.:o

[Code Red]

My experiences:

Years ago, well before the 9/11 bullshit, I filled out an order form from a gun magazine to have a stun gun sent to me (Australia), from the U.S.

The U.S company had a printed section on the order form claiming it is up to the purchaser to know local laws etc.

I sent off the the form, along with 60 or so dollars at the time, and got nothing for about 1 month. I thought I had been duped and moved on.
Then, low and behold, I recieve a letter in the mail from the U.S company claiming how the country I want the item shipped to (Aus) has different rules blah blah blah and I needed to sign a form stating that I accept that, and continue on with the deal.
I did sign the letter and sent it off.
2 months later and not having heard from anyone, I then thought the item was grabbed by customs and that was the end of it... I assumed they just kept the things they found to be 'illegal'.
Sadly a letter arrived, from the customs assholes. In the letter it stated that I had imported stun gun model (whatever it was) and that the item requires a special permit. I was given 21 days to come up with a police commissioners permit allowing me to own and have one. Of course I didn't, and they then sent a letter afterwards claiming the item was now in their posession for destruction or whatever.

Assholes!

2nd case:

While I was in Italy I purchased a replica Glock 9mm for 50,000 lira, around 50 bucks Aus at the time.
The thing was great, looked and felt exactly like the real deal. I really wanted to take it home with me, but I was concerned having it in my luggage, as I was travelling extensively worldwide.
While in the U.K, I placed the 'gun' in a plain postage packet and sent it off to an address in Australia, a friend of mine.
I didn't put any return address on the parcel, and wrapped it nicely.

After my travels were over, I was shown a letter by the friend which customs had sent him. The letter went on to say that the 'toy' was considered to be a replica handgun, and was not allowed into Australia, therefore it was being destroyed, or some shit along those lines!

These days, I'm sure the screening process is much more stringent. After these 2 failed attempts I no longer use any postal service to transport 'goods'. Most of my parcels I recieve from overseas have evidence of being opened and resealed with cell tape!

Unfortunately, the best ways of having something sent by post (stun gun, etc) is to have somebody living in the 'normal' country strip the item, and send it in pieces.

Otherwise, stow the item in your luggage bag and take it home yourself. It's a good excuse to go on a holiday!

[hatal]

The best idea (IMHO) is to dissassemble the gun and hide every part in a different mail package with the piece worked into some cheap metallic machine-component.
Elementary the package content label should say: XYZ machine-component or SomeShitty mechanic accessory.
This ofcourse, makes the delivery a bit more pricey but the rate of recieving the parts is more likely.
I havent worked out a method on delivering drugs but Im working on it :D

[Cobalt.45]

The best idea (IMHO) is to dissassemble the gun and hide every part in a different mail package...Not a thing wrong w/this AFAIK, but in most cases it's the receiver that is the taboo part for being mailed (at least in the US). Camouflaging it will be the bitch:(, IMHO.

Code Red: I can't believe the pork took your replica! What possible harm is a toy, for chrissakes? Ah, but don't we all feel just so fucking much safer:p!?!