Bricks of cocaine from Jamaica found in plane's cargo area at Philadelphia International airport
Officers seized the cocaine, which weighed about 18 pounds. The drugs have an approximate street value of about $580,000.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Philadelphia recently found 18 pounds of cocaine in the cargo hold of a passenger flight from Montego Bay, Jamaica.
CBP officers, who met the American Airlines flight as it gated at Philadelphia International Airport, climbed into the cargo hold to conduct a routine examination. Officials said a detector dog alerted officers to an access panel.
Officers opened the access panel and discovered three bags, including two gray Puma drawstring bags that contained eight wrapped bricks of a white powdery substance. Officers used a narcotics test kit and identified the substance as cocaine hydrochloride. The third bag, a plain blue duffle bag, was empty.
CBP officers seized the cocaine, which weighed about 18 pounds. The drugs have an approximate street value of about $580,000.
No arrests have been made, but the investigation is ongoing, officials said.
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"Narcotics interdiction remains a Customs and Border Protection priority and it is a mission that we conduct every day. Sometimes, our officers' persistence is rewarded with the discovery of dangerous drugs or other illicit contraband," said Joseph Martella, CBP's Area Port Director in Philadelphia. "It feels good to know that we were able to help our communities to be a bit safer by keeping this cocaine load out of the hands of street gangs that prey on the vulnerable."
CBP seized an average of 4,732 pounds of dangerous drugs every day last year.
