Man Tries To Smuggle Cocaine Inside Clams At Dulles

WASHINGTON - In the latest attempt to sneak drugs across the U.S. border, a man from El Salvador concealed 15 bags of cocaine in clams at Washington Dulles International Airport. Authorities found the stash hidden inside the man's luggage.

 
Officials seized a combined 152 grams of the narcotic from David Rene Pocasangre Vaquiz, 26. The approximate street value of the drugs is about $10,000.
 
"Smugglers attempt all types of creative concealment methods to sneak their deadly poison into the United States and this is one of the oddest we've seen," says Christopher Hess, Customs and Border Protection port director for D.C.
 

Pocasangre Vaquiz arrived at Dulles about 2 a.m. Saturday from Panama, says Steve Sapp from the Department of Homeland Security. He was headed for Maryland, but was first stopped for a routine inspection.

 

Customs agents found a black plastic bag containing approximately 80 clams. Hidden inside the first clam opened by officials was cocaine. An X-ray revealed 14 more such clams, which had been pried opened, stuffed with drugs and glued shut.

 

"It could very well be that they were experimenting with that method," Sapp says. "We don't think they will try that again."

Pocasangre Vaquiz is being charged with transporting narcotics into Virginia and possession with intent to distribute. His preliminary hearing is Oct. 5. He is being held without bond.

Source;  http://wtop.com/?nid=41&sid=2534820

Customs Agents Do Their Job At Dulles- Whatever The Job Might Be

Customs agents at Dulles have probably seen just about everything. And it seems people use their imaginations to smuggle anything they can and want to into our country. Some will even act naive about a smuggling attempt.

Here's a drug-sniffing dog namesDemi who sniffs chocolate.....or maybe drugs. But read below the arrest Customs and Border Protection agents made on September 9.

STERLING, Va. (AP) - Customs and Border Protection says a drug-sniffing dog found 21 pounds of marijuana hidden in packages of chocolate shipped to Washington-Dulles International Airport.

The marijuana was headed to New York. It has an estimated street value of nearly $17,000.

Officials say the dog, named Demi, alerted for a mailbag that arrived from Mexico City. One of five boxes in the sack contained marijuana.

The marijuana will be destroyed.

September 9, 2010
STERLING, Va. - Customs agents see foreigner travelers try to bring a lot of unusual items into the U.S., but one slimy seizure over Labor Day weekend could have been devastating to crops.

A traveler from Ghana tried to bring 14 Giant African Land Snails into the U.S. at Washington-Dulles International Airport Sunday.

The snails, which were as large as a child's fist, are said to be one of the worst invasive species in the world and have caused economic damage to crops.

The snails are known to eat at least 500 different types of plants and to reproduce rapidly. They can grow to be nearly 8 inches by 4 inches big.

The traveler declared the snails, but they had to be destroyed because they are illegal in the U.S.

www.wtop.com

Drugs Smuggled In Soup Packets

WASHINGTON

Authorities have arrested a Pennsylvania man who allegedly tried to smuggle more than four pounds of cocaine through Dulles International Airport using powdered soup packets.

Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Jose Acevedo, 41, after he arrived on board a flight from El Salvador on Thursday.

Authorities say a customs dog identified Acevedo, of Carlisle, Pa., as carrying drugs. When authorities opened the soup packets, the drugs were hidden inside some of them.

It isn't the first time authorities at the airport have seen creative smugglers. Last year officers found heroin in juice boxes and cocaine in cooked chicken.

www.hamptonroads.com