U.S. agents seize 4 pounds of drugs sent from Santo Domingo

AGUADILLA, Puerto Rico – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized this week, approximately 1 pound (447 grams) of cocaine and 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms) of marihuana at the Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla, during separate inspections.

During random examination of arriving parcels, CBP selected one of the parcels posted from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to Toronto, Canada. Concealed within the bottom flaps of a box, officers detected a white powder. A field test of a sample of the powder reacted positive to cocaine. The seized cocaine, weighting approximately 1 pound, has an estimated value of $33,500.

On a separate incident, a CBP canine alerted to a package en-route to Barbados from New York, NY, and manifested as “Truck oil filters, air filters and light auto parts”. Inside the package, officers found two aluminum cans that contained a plastic vacuum sealed bag with a substance that tested positive to marijuana, with an approximate weight of 3 pounds and an approximate street value of $5,850.

“Smuggling organizations try to conceal their loads by any means possible and use many venues to avoid detection from law enforcement,” stated Juan Hurtado, San Juan Area Port Director. “Our officers remain vigilant managing all risk factors to deter these smuggling attempts.”

CBP officers contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, who responded. The contraband was seized.