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    Smuggling operation

    Photographer Taryn Simon spent five days sleeping on a mattress at JFK Airport in Queens, New York, in order to document all the captured contraband and banned goods going in and out of the country. Her newly-released photo essay provides a rarely-seen glimpse of the smuggling trade, including shots of knockoff handbags disguised as shopping bags, date-rape drugs hidden in fake chemicals and the occasional deer penis disguised as deer penis.

    There were containers filled with Botox-making ingredients, fake Louis Vuitton handbags and dead guinea pigs. There were animal parts, cigars and steroids. Viagra from China and GBL, the date-rape drug, freshly arrived from Europe.

    ...and much, much more in the photo essay Simon produced for CNN with a team of observers working 24 hours a day for five days:

    Fake handbags

    "Handbag, Louis Vitton (disguised) (counterfeit)"

    Fake Viagra

    "US American Visagra," aka fake Chinese-made Viagra

    Deer penis

    "Deer penis"

    GBH

    "GBL, Poland, used as a date rape drug," disguised as Pure Cleaner

    Heroin

    "Heroin," smuggled out of India, on/in some unidentified object

    Firearm

    "Percussion pistol, Enfield 1858," from Afghanistan (unlicensed)

    Lost Season 4 DVDs

    "Bootleg Lost: Season 4 DVDs"

    Commentarium (2 Comments)

    Sep 21 10 - 10:19pm
    mmm

    um, que?

    Dec 29 10 - 2:02pm
    DUE PI

    Punishment for tax payers who can't receive the cheap replications of the designer products that only the wealthy can afford in today's economy... an antique firearm... sleep medication for narcoleptics who can't get an Rx for Xyrem because providers will not risk their jobs (everyone knows that alcohol is the leading date rape drug)... but no bomb-making materials here! Seems like some people here need to get a REAL job.