STERLING, Va. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers discovered cocaine concealed in parcels that a Honduran courier was delivering to an address in Maryland September 26 at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Roving CBP officers selected the courier and his baggage for a secondary examination. During that inspection, officers noticed discrepancies in four wooden support posts of two hammocks. An x-ray detected anomalies in each of the posts. Officers pried opened one post and discovered numerous small bags of a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for the properties of cocaine.
inside wooden hammock posts.
The bags were glued into the wooden posts, so officers were unable to cleanly extract the bags. The combined weight of the cocaine and four wooden posts was about nine pounds.
Privacy laws prohibit CBP from releasing the courier’s name because he was not criminally charged. CBP allowed the courier to withdrawal his application for admission and he will depart on the next flight to Honduras.
“Transnational criminal organizations attempt many creative concealment methods to smuggle their dangerous drugs into the United States, however Customs and Border Protection officers are highly skilled at detecting illicit contraband,” said Casey Durst, CBP Director of Field Operations in Baltimore. “Narcotics interdiction remains one of CBP’s priority border security missions and is one way in which CBP contributes to the safety of our communities.”
CBP routinely conducts inspection operations on arriving and departing international flights and intercepts narcotics, weapons, currency, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture products, and other illicit items at our nation’s 328 international ports of entry. On a typical day, CBP seizes an average of 4,657 pounds of narcotics across the country. Learn what else CBP achieved during “A Typical Day” last year.
Visit CBP’s Border Security webpage to learn how CBP conducts its border security mission at our nation’s Ports of Entry.
Travelers are encouraged to visit CBP’s Travel website to learn more about the CBP admissions process and rules governing travel to and from the U.S., or visit www.CBP.gov.