Customs and Border Protection officials have added bed posts to the long list of unusual items couriers have used to smuggle drugs in the United States through D.C.-area airports.
CBP officers found cocaine-filled bed posts in a group of items a courier who arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport on Thursday, authorities said.
An x-ray detected an anomaly inside the posts, according to CBP. When officers opened them, they found a white, powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine.
CBP spokesman Steve Sapp said the courier was a 26-year-old man from Guatemala. He arrived at Dulles on a flight from El Salvador.
The man is not facing criminal charges and flew back to El Salvador. Sapp said he didn’t know why the man wasn’t charged, but said couriers sometimes don’t face arrest if they can’t be strongly tied to the cocaine or drug operation.
The man was carrying about 8.64 ounces of cocaine, which has a street value of $17,000, according to CBP.
The cocaine was ultimately destined for New York, Sapp said.
In recent years, smugglers have used methods like religious statues, juice boxes, soup packets and clams to try to send drugs on flights. But, Sapp said, “this is the first time I’ve seen bed posts.”
