Another person has been caught at one of the region's airports after having swallowed dozens of heroin pellets in a drug-smuggling attempt, according to court records.
A 61-year-old Nigerian woman was arrested after she flew into Washington Dulles International Airport from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last week.
A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Alexandria says U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers became suspicious of Olanrewaju Halimat after she "provided multiple and conflicting reasons for her travel" and was "exhibiting signs and symptoms that she had ingested narcotics."
Halimat was taken to Reston Hospital Center, where she expelled nearly four dozen heroin pellets that she had ingested before her flight, the complaint says.
The federal public defender representing Halimat declined to comment on the case.
Authorities have said that drug smuggling through human couriers who land at Dulles is a growing concern because of the increasing number of direct flights to the airport from high-trafficking areas such as Africa and Latin America.
According to court documents, Halimat swallowed 47 pellets that weighed about 500 grams, or just more than 1 pound. The pellets field-tested positive for heroin at the hospital, the documents say.
Halimat is just the latest alleged smuggler nabbed at Dulles.
At least three other people -- all also from Nigeria -- have been caught after having ingested heroin pellets, and federal authorities say they disrupted a Ghana-based trafficking ring that was using human couriers to carry heroin-filled suitcases into the United States.
Others have taken even more creative approaches. Last month, a man was caught with what CBP officers said were 15 cocaine-stuffed clams in his luggage. Other items used to smuggle drugs through area airports in recent years include juice boxes, soup packets, chickens, religious statues and magazines, according to officials and court records.
Halimat was ordered to remain in custody pending further court proceedings at a hearing last week.
If she is convicted, Halimat could face a sentence of 10 years to life in prison, according to sentencing guidelines. But most others convicted in recent drug-importation cases have been sentenced to three to four years behind bars.
http://washingtonexaminer.com
No comments:
Post a Comment