Customs Officers Find 3 Pounds Of Cocaine Hidden In Leather Portfolio At Newark Airport
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Airport customs officers made quite the find last week when inspecting a passenger's baggage at Newark Liberty Airport.
Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms) of cocaine they said was hidden in a leather portfolio that "seemed bulky and unusually heavy."
Officers found a white power inside the portfolio that later tested positive for cocaine, officials said. The find was made during random checks.
Crystal Nurse, a 33-year-old from Brooklyn, was returning from Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago. She was arrested and turned over to Port Authority Police and will be prosecuted by the Essex County Prosecutors Office in Newark, officials said.
"Cocaine is a harmful narcotic that destroys lives and communities and we are always on the lookout to thwart drug smuggling activity," said Robert E. Perez, Director of New York Field Operations for Customers and Border Protection.
The cocaine was estimated to be valued at around $50,000.
"I commend the continued concerted efforts of Customs and Border Protection and members of the Port Authority Police Department for vigilantly working to stem the tide of narcotic importation," said Port Authority Police Superintendent Michael Fedorko.
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