A Guatemalan woman was caught at Washington Dulles International Airport allegedly attempting to smuggle nearly 800 grams of heroin into the United States, Customs and Border Protection announced.
On Sunday, October 27, 31-year-old Maria Jose Recinos Rodriguez arrived on a morning flight from Guatemala City and was referred for a routine secondary examination for food couriers.
CBP said its officers found seven packages of heroin—three large parcels and 4 small sleeves—concealed inside three bags of coffee, and the material was tested to confirm what it was. In total, the heroin weighed 798 grams, or 1 lb. 12 oz. and CBP reported its street value as approximately $55,000.
Recinos Rodriguez and the heroin were over to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police officers, and the woman is facing charges for felony narcotics possession with intent to distribute.
“Drug trafficking organizations attempt all manner of concealment to smuggle their dangerous drugs unto the United States, including concealing it inside a seemingly innocuous courier shipment of food, but Customs and Border Protection officers prove time and again their proficiency in exposing those concealment methods,” said Marc E. Calixte, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C.
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