Customs and Border Patrol agents at JFK International Airport discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cocaine inside the wheels of a woman’s wheelchair (Picture: CBP)
Federal authorities seized about $450,000 worth of cocaine from a smuggler who tried to hide the drug in the wheels of a wheelchair.
On November 10, Emelinda Paulino De Rivas was arrested at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York after agents from US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) noticed an ‘anomaly’ with her wheelchair.
De Rivas had just gotten off a flight to New York from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
‘CBP officers noticed that the wheels on the wheelchair were not turning, so they x-rayed the wheelchair and noticed an anomaly in all four wheels,’ the agency stated.
Upon inspecting the wheels, they found packages containing a white powder that tested positive for cocaine. The packages contained a total of 28 pounds of drugs in total, valued at $450,000.
De Rivas was arrested and federally charged with importation of a controlled substance. She was transferred into the custody of Homeland Security Investigations.
De Rivas, a Dominican citizen, will be prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn.
‘CBP stands steadfast and determined in working with our partners to identify the trans- national criminal networks responsible for importing these deadly drugs into our neighborhoods’ New York Field Director Francis J Russo stated after the arrest.
This is not the first smuggling attempt foiled this year. In August, a British woman was caught in Cancun, Mexico trying to smuggle 22 pounds of cocaine hidden inside a secret compartment in her luggage.
In the US, CBP agents in Texas seized 1,523 pounds of cocaine from a truck at a the Laredo-Colombia Solidarity Bridge.
Authorities flagged the truck for further inspection after it tried to use a falsified cargo manifest from 8 years ago.
The drugs were disguised as a shipment of baby wipes. The massive amount of cocaine was valued at $11,800,000.
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Emelinda Paulino De Rivas was arrested at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York after agents from US Customs and Border Patrol noticed an ‘anomaly’ with her wheelchair.
