That’s a different kind of coke on your thermal cup.
Federal agents have seized $70,000 worth of cocaine hidden inside insulated walls of thermal cups, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced this week.
The drug arrived in four shipments from Jamaica, each one containing approximately 250 to 260 grams of cocaine, for a total weight of more than 1 kilogram, or more than 2.5 pounds.
Agents in three states — New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio — worked together to interrupt what the CBP described as “a cool trend in cocaine concealment.”
Each shipment consisted of four souvenir insulated thermal cups that were packed with tea bags, bagged spices or vaporizing ointment.
The bust occurred earlier last month, and it was announced by the agency on Tuesday.
CBP officers found cocaine concealed inside the insulated liner of these thermal cups shipped from Jamaica. (CBP)
“These cocaine seizures perfectly illustrate how Customs and Border Protection officers across the country routinely collaborate to intercept shipments of dangerous drugs and force traffickers to work hard to change concealment tactics and supply routes,” said Joseph Martella, the agency’s area port director in Philadelphia.
The first shipment was intercepted on March 10, when Philadelphia CBP officers found that the insulated cups, which were filled with tea bags, were “unusually heavy.”
After drilling into each up, they found a “white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine.”
The shipment had arrived from Montego Bay, Jamaica, and it was destined to an address in Philadelphia.
Another shipment arrived in Philadelphia on March 11.
Four days later, agents and a narcotics detector dog named Kincsem intercepted the third shipment in New York, which was addressed to the Bronx.
The last shipment arrived on March 16, when Philadelphia CBP officers seized a parcel that was addressed to Stamford, Conn.
According to Philadelphia CBP officers, that wasn’t the only drug-smuggling scheme coming from Jamaica this month.
On March 15, CBP agents, with the help of their dog Dasha, discovered 18 pounds of the drug in the cargo hold of an American Airlines flight, arriving from Montego Bay, at the Philadelphia International Airport.
Copyright © 2021, New York Daily News
Copyright © 2021, New York Daily News