NEW YORK: The weekend was a busy one for two U.S. Customs and Border Protection K9s as they sniffed out several packages allegedly containing narcotics with an estimated street value of over $470,000, according to U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency calculations, the CBP said.
CBP officers and K9s Little Frenky, a 2 and a half year old male Dutch shepherd, and Spike, a 4 and a half year old male Belgian Malinois, were conducting enforcement examinations at an express cargo facility at John F. Kennedy International Airport when Frenky alerted his handler to the presence of narcotics within packages of a powdered honey-flavored drink.
The agency’s press release said that one of the packages was probed by officers and produced a brown powder, which allegedly tested positive for heroin.
CBP officers and the dogs continued the inspection of the express cargo facility, with Frenky again alerting agents to the presence of narcotics within Tortrix Chips and Jelly Powder.
One of the packages was probed and it also produced a brown powdery substance which allegedly tested positive for heroin, the release stated.
A short time later, Frenky alerted for a third time to the presence of narcotics within a shipment of powdered drink mix packages.
One of the packages was probed and it also produced a brown powder that allegedly tested positive for heroin, authorities said in the statement.
CBP officers wrapped up the busy weekend with a final heroin seizure on June 7, as Spike alerted agents to the presence of narcotics in a shipment disguised as Risitos chip seasoning.
Upon further examination of the package, multiple packages of cookies and seasoning mix were discovered.
Those packages were probed, producing a brown powdery substance that once again allegedly tested positive for heroin, the statement read.
In total, CBP officers found four packages with heroin inside them with an approximate weight of 16 pounds, authorities said in the release.
There have been no arrests at this point and the seizures are part of an ongoing investigation, the release stated.
CBP officials also reported that a passenger arriving on a June 6 flight from the Caribbean was looking to bake more than just a cake.
According to the agency’s press release, CBP officers stopped Alizah Zaneshia Henry, a U.S. citizen, who was arriving on a flight from Georgetown, Guyana via Port of Spain, Trinidad.
During the course of the inspection, CBP officers removed one of several plastic bags labeled “Champion Baking Powder” from Henry’s suitcase, the release said. CBP officers escorted her to a private search room where the baking powder was probed and allegedly tested positive for cocaine, authorities said.
Henry was arrested for the import of a controlled substance and was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations, according to CBP’s press release.
The total weight of cocaine seized was approximately 22 pounds, authorities said in the release.
