North Korean container ship ”Chong Chon Gang” docked at the Manzanillo International Container Terminal in Colon City July 16, 2013. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
On July 15, the North Korea-bound cargo ship Chong Chon Gang was stopped by Panamanian authorities outside the Panama Canal. Within the containers on board, missile parts, fire control radars, and two Russian MiGs were found stuffed inside by authorities.
The contraband was hidden underneath ten thousand pounds of Cuban brown sugar.
After three weeks near the equator exposed to the atmosphere, the sugar has apparently now turned into a sticky, molten mess with overtones of urine, mold, body odor, and rotten food. “To call that thing filthy would be a compliment,” said Panamanian Security Minister José Raúl Mulino in a report from the Miami Herald.
For the inspectors who are tasked with combing through this vessel, it’s a tall order. An extraordinarily tall order considering the ship has now attracted every bee within smell range of the Chong Chon Gang.
According to NKNews and La Prensa, the Panamania Ministry of Health is now fumigating daily to help get rid of the bees and authorities are scrambling to find somewhere else to store the sugary mess while the inspection is carried out.
Bee image (c) Shutterstock/Van Truan