Feds find cache of cocaine concealed inside phony candy Easter eggs
LOS ANGELES - A
Miami man is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court
here Monday afternoon on a drug smuggling charge after he was
intercepted at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) late last week
attempting to smuggle in a cache of cocaine concealed inside dozens of
phony candy Easter eggs.
Esteban Galtes, 23,
was taken into custody at LAX Thursday night by agents with U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI). His arrest came after U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) officers searched Galtes’ luggage and discovered more
than 14 pounds of cocaine, much of it camouflaged as pastel-colored,
egg-shaped candies. Galtes told CBP officers the eggs were for his two
children.
The
remainder of the cocaine was secreted under the cardboard bottom of a
paper shopping bag. The seized cocaine has an estimated street value of
more than $100,000.
"CBP officers at
LAX remain ever vigilant during this holiday season,” said Carlos
Martel, acting director of Los Angeles field operations for CBP. "This
smuggling attempt and interception should give notice to all persons
involved in this illicit trade to think twice when attempting to smuggle
cocaine or other prohibited drugs/items into LAX."
"Drug traffickers
are always trying novel ways to conceal their contraband," said Claude
Arnold, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Los Angeles. "But cocaine
camouflaged as Easter candy is one of the more unusual tactics we’ve
come across. Obviously two days before Christmas, this defendant didn’t
expect his trip would end with federal officers conducting an Easter egg
hunt."
Galtes is charged with importation of a controlled substance. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
ICE HSI agents
say at the time of his arrest Galtes was returning to the United States
following a one-week trip to Colombia. ICE HSI’s investigation into the
cocaine smuggling scheme is ongoing.
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