It has long been said that chocolate is mankind’s eighth deadly sin – and the discovery of $500,000 worth of Colombian cocaine smuggled inside a box of truffles will only add weight to the argument.
On May 11, a U.S. citizen was arrested by American Customs and Border Protection agents at JFK Airport in New York City after a flight from Medellin, when they noticed that something just wasn’t right about the man’s luggage.
“The chocolates and pistachios were unusually heavy,” airport officials recalled.
Upon further inspection, customs agents discovered seven kilos of cocaine, with a street value of $500,000, hidden inside Ferrero Rocher branded chocolates and pistachio shells.
Authorities report that U.S. citizen Robert Lopera, from Connecticut, was arrested after an examination showed that the white powder discovered by the agents was indeed cocaine.
Lopera, who travelled to New York City on Avianca Flight 824 on a one-way ticket paid in cash, is expected to be arraigned in a Brooklyn a federal court for drug trafficking charges.
The defilement of the tasty truffles is however nothing compared to the method used recently by the Colombian drug smugglers who hid their wares in statues of the Virgin Mary.