A Dominican woman was caught at the John F. Kennedy airport in New York, United States, with almost 20 pounds of cocaine hidden in Santa Claus stuffed animals after returning from the Dominican Republic from the Punta Cana Airport, according to Homeland Security Investigations published by the New York Post.
The woman, who was identified as Adderly Santos Familia and a Queens resident, was arrested on December 14 with drugs also inside two neck pillows and in the lining of her luggage, which was found in the Customs and Border Protection.
The FBI found almost nine kilos of cocaine in the belongings of Santos Familia, who, he told officials, had come to the Dominican Republic to see relatives.
Prosecutors released photos of the Santa Claus dolls, where you can see a mixture of stuffing and packets of cocaine that were ripped from the outside, The Post reported.
When the agents questioned Santos Familia about the pillows, which were the first objects to be opened, he assured that he had obtained them from his children.
The cocaine seized has a value between 260,000 and one million dollars, according to estimates by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Adderly Santos Familia was charged with importing and possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it, offenses for which she would face life in prison and up to $10 million in fines. The woman was released the next day after posting $100,000 bail.
In November, another would-be smuggler who flew to JFK from the Dominican Republic tried to hide cocaine $450,000 worth of wheels on his chair. Customs and Border Protection officers noticed that the chair’s wheels were not turning normally and decided to subject it to the baggage X-ray.
