Nearly $1M of Cocaine Hidden in Hot Chocolate Seized at Virginia Airport

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized $900,000 worth of cocaine concealed within packages of hot chocolate last month, the agency said Thursday.
The CBP agents discovered 10 cocaine bricks with a combined weight of over 28 pounds stashed between layers of coffee grounds and under a double layer of chocolate bars in hot chocolate packages in a shipment bound for an address in Northern Virginia.
“Cocao and Coca may sound similar, but what Customs and Border Protection officers at Washington Dulles International Airport found inside packages of hot chocolate was a poisonous powder instead of the advertised chocolatey confection,” read the agency’s statement.
CBP seized the illegal substance, and federal authorities detained a Guatemalan courier who brought the shipment to the United States. The courier was released on Tuesday after prosecutors were unable to connect said courier to the cocaine directly, CBP said.
The courier’s visa was canceled, and officers processed him as expedited removal. According to the release, he departed for Guatemala on Wednesday. Officials said the courier’s name was not released as he was not criminally charged.
“Drug trafficking organizations continue trying to smuggle their illicit narcotics into the United States, but vigilant Customs and Border Protection officers are relentless in their efforts to intercept these smuggling attempts and to protect our communities from the scourge of dangerous drugs,” said Marc Calixte, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C.
Newsweek reached out to the CBP for comment via email.
According to the CBP, the agency seized an average of 2,339 pounds of dangerous drugs every day last year.
Yesterday, Newsweek reported that the CBP uncovered more than $31 million worth of meth hidden within a shipment of serrano peppers. Smugglers concealed 1,255 pounds of the illegal substance by wrapping the packages in bright green plastic, mimicking the peppers’ shape.
These drugs arrived from Mexico in a tractor-trailer at the cargo facility at the Pharr International Bridge in Pharr, Texas, on November 10. Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio launched a criminal investigation.
Last week, Newsweek reported that border agents seized an “unprecedented” amount of marijuana in Philadelphia. The CBP discovered the 170-pound haul worth $800,000 bound for London while inspecting export parcels at an international shipping service facility.
“This is an unprecedented number of export marijuana parcels that we’ve seen, but they are also parcels that London consumers won’t see,” said Cleatus Hunt, CBP’s area port director for the Area Port of Philadelphia.
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