'Green' cocaine confiscated by CBP officers at Philadelphia International Airport

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Customs and Border Protection officers recently made a rare bust at Philadelphia International Airport.

Officers confiscated more than 12 pounds of 'green cocaine' on Oct. 21.

The package initially arrived on Aug. 6 from Colombia.

CBP officers examined the contents of the package and discovered nine plastic jars that contained a green powdery substance and nine plastic jars that contained a brown tar-like substance.

Samples were sent to labs in Savannah, Georgia and Newark, New Jersey for analysis.

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"On October 20, both labs confirmed that the green powdery substance tested positive for the presence of cocaine alkaloids, and that that the brown tar-like substance tested positive for nicotine," CBP said.

Cocaine is produced from green coca plant leaves. Through a chemical process using gasoline, ammonia and other chemicals, the green color is processed into the common white-colored substance.

CBP said its officers periodically encounter coca leaves in plant form while inspecting travelers' baggage and in air-shipped parcels, but rarely encounter the green powdery substance.

"This seizure perfectly illustrates how Customs and Border Protection officers use keen instinct and professional scientific analysis to intercept dangerous drugs being smuggled into our communities," Casey Durst, Director of Field Operations for CBP's Baltimore Field Office, said in a statement.