Philadelphia authorities find 41 pounds of cocaine on aircraft from the Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo, DR
Customs officials at the Philadelphia airport found 41 pounds of cocaine from a flight coming from the Dominican Republic.

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) release, the amount of cocaine found is worth about $1.3 million.

So far, no one has been arrested. However, an investigation has been opened.

During an inspection of the Aug. 12 flight, officers discovered 16 brick-shaped objects hidden under a blanket in a technical space on the plane, which they later determined contained a white substance that tested positive for cocaine.

The cocaine weighed 18.894 kilograms or just over 41 pounds.

“Drug trafficking organizations work very hard to smuggle their dangerous drugs into the United States and Customs and Border Protection officers must be equally on point to intercept this community poison,” said Joseph Martella, CBP Philadelphia Area Port Director CBP.

During the three days before the discovery, the aircraft made passenger service stops at domestic airports in New York City, Miami, San Diego, and Philadelphia before arriving from Santo Domingo.

Each day CBP officers and agents seize an average of 4,732 pounds of drugs at U.S. air, land, and sea ports of entry.