by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:54 AM ET, Mon October 30, 2017
A man from Guatemala pleaded guilty last week after he was caught smuggling three kilograms of heroin coated in chocolate into the United States.
According to The Associated Press, 21-year-old Jacobo Orellana-Estrada flew from Guatemala City to Newark Liberty International Airport on June 11 when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stopped him and searched his bags.
Prosecutors revealed authorities found six small layer cakes in his luggage. However, upon further inspection, the cakes turned out to be contained packages of heroin coated with a thin layer of chocolate and wrapped in paper.
On Thursday, Orellana-Estrada pleaded guilty in U.S. Federal Court in Trenton, New Jersey, to possession with intent to distribute. The penalty for attempting to sell more than one kilogram of heroin carries a possible maximum penalty of life in prison.
The sentencing for Orellana-Estrada is scheduled for January 29.
Smuggling at airports continues to be a major issue across the world. In Australia, an American woman was arrested for carrying over four pounds of cocaine in her shoes and in India, a group of 29 people was discovered with gold hidden in their rectums.
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