claim: A Clinton Foundation cargo ship arriving from Africa was raided and found to contain "illegal contraband" in the form of foreign refugees, narcotics, weapons, and illegal fruits.
origin: On 11 May 2017, a slew of disreputable web sites posted an article alleging that a massive number of contraband items were discovered during a customsÂ raid on a container ship belonging to the Clinton Foundation: < A ship owned and operated by the Clinton Foundation was raided as it arrived from Africa this morning at the Port of Baltimore. The ship, which was supposed to be carrying â€œemergency supplies,â€ was actually carrying a cargo that had authorities stunned. BPA Harbormaster Jake Cummings explained to CNN: â€œWe received a tip that the Clinton Foundation flagship, The Chelsea, was carrying illegal contraband into the United States. We honestly didnâ€™t know what to expect, but what we found was simplyâ€¦surreal. In the middle of the shipâ€™s large manifest of containers, most of which were empty, we found 14 containingâ€¦people. Yes, people. They were all Refugees from places like Yemen and Syria and not a single one had any kind of documentation. We interviewed those who spoke English and were told that for $40K, anyone can catch a ride to the United States on a ship nobody would ever suspect.â€ > The article continues with a list of moreÂ illegal items allegedly discovered aboard â€œthe Chelseaâ€: < Two other containers were also found to contain multiple crates of contraband, including illegal fruits that could potentially carry foreign insects and foodborne illnesses, weapons without serial numbers on them and no less than 30 pounds of marijuana. Several of the refugees were also found to be in possession of black tar heroin, an addictive, smokable form of the drug. > Without exception, all the above claims were fabricated, however. No such raid was reported in any legitimate news sources. CNN, specifically, did not run an interview with the Port of Baltimore harbor master in connection with this or any similar raid. We have found no evidence that the Clinton Foundation owns or operates any kind of cargo ship called â€œthe Chelsea.â€ In addition, the article originated on a web site known as The Last Line of Defense (about which we have writtenÂ many times), a â€œsatiricalâ€ venue that cranks out false clickbaitÂ stories on a daily basis. As the siteâ€™s administrators note on in a disclaimer on their â€œAbout Usâ€Â page: < The Resistance may include information from sources that may or may not be reliable and facts that donâ€™t necessarily exist. All articles should be considered satirical and any and all quotes attributed to actual people complete and total baloney. Pictures that represent actual people should be considered altered and not in any way real. >