Cocaine Inside Computer Bag At JFK

The seized laptop bag with the cocaine. (US CBP image)

News Americas, JAMAICA, N.Y., Mon. Sept. 15, 2014: Over three pounds of cocaine with an approximate street value of  US$55,000 was recently founded in the computer bag of an arriving passenger from the Dominican Republic at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

U. S. Customs and Border Protection officers stopped Ortega Tejada who arrived on a flight from Santo Domingo and during the course of the inspection, CBP officers noticed the computer bag was unusually heavy and the sides were thicker than normal.

The officers probed the computer bag and discovered a white powdery substance which tested positive for cocaine.

Tejada was arrested for the importation of a controlled substance and was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations.

Tejada now faces federal narcotics smuggling charges and will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the U.S. Eastern District Court of New York.

“This latest seizure demonstrates the vigilance of our CBP officers, and their excellence in detecting those who would try to smuggle these illegal substances,” said Robert E. Perez, director, Field Operations New York.