WASHINGTON - 28 pounds of cocaine were discovered hidden inside packages of hot cocoa at Washington Dulles International Airport last month.
Customs and Border Protection officers found the powdered drug on October 5 in a shipment brought by a Guatemalan courier. The white powder was hidden between layers of coffee grounds and under layers of chocolate bars in hot chocolate packages.
The Guatemalan citizen was sent back to his country, but was not criminally charged; prosecutors were unable to connect them to the cocaine.
"Drug trafficking organizations continue trying to smuggle their illicit narcotics into the United States, but vigilant Customs and Border Protection officers are relentless in their efforts to intercept these smuggling attempts and to protect our communities from the scourge of dangerous drugs," said Marc E. Calixte, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C.