Federal prosecutors are accusing a Salvadoran man of trying to sneak more than 14 pounds of cocaine disguised as dried soup in luggage through Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
The bust is another blow to Maryland cocaine dealers who rely on the state’s only international airport to restock their dwindling supplies, said U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein.
“Cocaine is not grown in Maryland; it’s coming through in planes, trains, automobiles and ships,” Rosenstein said.
“We often have people attempting to smuggle drugs through BWI and [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is vigilant about monitoring the airport to identify smugglers.”
But Rosenstein said hiding the cocaine in soup packets was unique, adding, “one of the challenges to law enforcement is that traffickers use every conceivable means.”
Felix Velasquez-Hernandez was caught Jan. 31 with the allegedly drug-filled “Maggi” soup packets, which held 14 1/2 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $650,000, according to a sworn statement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jon Marsicano Jr.
Velasquez-Hernandez told Marsicano he was unaware of the cocaine. A woman Velasquez-Hernandez knew as “Celia” in Sonsonate, El Salvador, had asked him to fly to the United States with the bag.
Once in the United States, Velasquez-Hernandez was told to take the bag to a Hyattsville man and stay with him until his return flight.
Velasquez-Hernandez is being held without bail.
