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Authorities Seize Cocaine Concealed In Magic Markers, Deodorant At JFK International Airport

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Would-be drug smugglers have been getting creative lately at John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials say.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said on May 8 they checked the luggage of passenger Tomas Sykora, who flew in from Port Au Prince, Haiti.

Anthony Bucci, Public Affairs Specialist for US Customs and Border Protection, said Sykora showed signs of "nervousness."

In his luggage, they noticed a packet of 16 magic markers, 17 bottles of antiperspirant, 24 bottles of nail polish and six bags of buttons.

"Those different items felt unusually heavy," Bucci said.

Drug Buttons
Close-up of buttons stuffed with cocaine seized at JFK International Airport on May 8, 2012. (credit: U.S. Customs and Border Patrol)

All of them were stuffed with cocaine, Customs and Border Patrol officials said.

They seized nearly 16 pounds of it.

Sykora faces federal drug smuggling charges.

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