40°
Maria Jose Recinos Rodriguez, 31, a Guatemalan national, wanted an extra kick with her coffee after being busted attempting to conceal heroin in coffee grounds she traveled into the country with.
According to a CBP spokesperson, on Sunday, officers discovered nearly two pounds of heroin concealed in a courier shipment at the airport.
Investigators say that Recinos Rodriguez arrived on Oct. 27 from Guatemala City and was referred as a food courier to a routine secondary check, as "transnational criminal organizations sometimes attempt to smuggle dangerous drugs in courier shipments."
Sure enough, during the examination, CBP officers found three packages and four smaller sleeves of heroin concealed inside three bags of coffee.
The heroin weighed a combined 798 grams, or one pound, 12 ounces. It has a street value of about $55,000.
Recinos Rodriguez and the heroin was then handed off to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police officers.
“Drug trafficking organizations attempt all manner of concealment to smuggle their dangerous drugs unto the United States, including concealing it inside a seemingly innocuous courier shipment of food, but Customs and Border Protection officers prove time and again their proficiency in exposing those concealment methods,” Marc Calixte, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, DC stated.
Recinos Rodriguez was charged with felony narcotics possession with intent to distribute charges.
Want breaking news in the DMV as it happens, or want to contribute? Join the DMV All Incidents Facebook group.
Click here to follow Daily Voice West Springfield and receive free news updates.
