Customs and Border Protection officers at Washington Dulles International Airport intercepted cocaine hidden in hot chocolate packages brought in by a courier from Guatemala.
The cocaine was found in the courier’s shipment and weighed approximately 28 pounds. Although it was found in early October, CBP released the report this week.
“Federal authorities initially detained the courier, but authorities released the courier on Tuesday after prosecutors were unable to directly link the courier to the cocaine,” CBP said in a statement. press release earlier this week.
The shipment was to be sent to an address in northern Virginia and had a street value of approximately $900,000.
In another food courier shipment from Guatemala, this one in late October, CBP agents seized nearly two pounds of heroin hidden in coffee packets.
“Drug trafficking organizations continue to attempt to smuggle their illegal narcotics into the United States, but vigilant Customs and Border Protection officials are relentless in their efforts to intercept these smuggling attempts and protect our communities from the scourge of dangerous drugs,” Marc E. Calixte, said CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of DC.
“Each day last year, CBP agents and officers seized an average of 2,339 pounds of dangerous drugs at and between our nation’s air, sea, and land ports of entry,” the CBP release said.