Woman Caught With $90K of Cocaine at BWI Airport

Image: PHOTO: A man who tried to pass himself off as a pilot also allegedly tried to sneak cocaine into NYC. (Courtesy Thinkstock) (Thinkstock 468725721)
Image: PHOTO: A man who tried to pass himself off as a pilot also allegedly tried to sneak cocaine into NYC. (Courtesy Thinkstock) (Thinkstock 468725721)
Patrick Clarke
by Patrick Clarke
Last updated: 11:49 AM ET, Mon July 25, 2016

Photo courtesy of Thinkstock

A secondary screening of a female passenger at Baltimore Washington International Airport last week uncovered approximately $90,000 worth of cocaine, the Baltimore Sun reported.

The woman, who is from Jamaica, was arrested after officials discovered nearly three pounds of cocaine inside a hidden compartment at the bottom of her suitcase.

"That's a substantial amount of narcotics being smuggled in by one person," U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Dave Billips told CBS Baltimore.

Agents found the cocaine during an X-ray scan after first noticing the woman's suitcase was unusually thick.

The woman, identified as 30-year-old Trudian James, has since been turned over to Maryland State Police for prosecution.

While officials are able to seize an average of 9,000 pounds of narcotics coming into the U.S. each day, according to CBP, they face significant hurdles in doing so.

"Smugglers are very innovative," added Billips. "They can hide it in canned food, fake shaving cream cans. We've had it in people's shoe soles."

"Any way you can think of doing it, it's probably been done," he told CBS.


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Patrick Clarke

Patrick Clarke

Senior Editor

A Maryland native and wanderer who has lived across the U.S. from North Carolina to SoCal, Patrick Clarke graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in journalism. He previously worked for Bleacher

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