Two “Cocaine Underpants” Wearing Pax Busted on One Flight
Jeff Edwards April 27, 2017
Two smugglers went to extremes to sneak drugs into the US from the Dominican Republic, but the elaborate cocaine underpants scheme didn’t fool officials for a minute.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents unmasked two drug runners arriving on the same Las Américas International Airport (SDQ) to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)-bound flight on Wednesday, April 19. Officials say the two men, who initially appeared to be traveling separately, employed remarkably similar techniques in hopes of avoiding detection.
According to agents, US citizen Ariel Garcia arrived at a JFK customs inspection station with nearly eleven pounds of cocaine taped to his body and concealed under his pants. Simultaneously, another passenger, Dominican Republic national, Elvin Montilla-Sosa, was also attempting to slip through a JFK airport checkpoint unnoticed according to officials. Instead, about twelve pounds of cocaine were found hidden under Montilla-Sosa’s pants and taped to his torso.
“This latest seizure demonstrates our CBP officers being ever vigilant in protecting the United States from the distribution of these illicit drugs,” CBP spokesman Leon Hayward said in a statement announcing agents’ unraveling of the remarkably bold smuggling attempt.
According to Homeland Security officials, the total street value of the drugs seized was estimated at upwards of $380,000. Garcia was said to be wearing cocaine undergarments worth approximately $180,000, while Montilla-Sosa was allegedly keeping nearly $200,000 worth of illicit drugs warm under his clothes.
Both men were arrested by CBP agents and are expected to face federal drug trafficking charges.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
Now it really begins to make sense why Delta recently hauled off a passenger trying to use the bathroom on board a plane. Delta must have been concerned that there was cocaine in his underpants. Waiting now for the viral cell phone video where the attendant asks the passenger "Hey, are you happy to see me or is that just cocaine in your underpants?"