EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — A Colombian man attempted to smuggle liquid cocaine in full-sized bottles of shampoo Monday in Houston, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.
CBP officers questioned the 26-year-old man after he landed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and retrieved his bags from the luggage carousel.
The conversation prompted officers to search the man’s luggage, in which they found 24 shampoo bottles. A drug-sniffing dog then alerted officers the presence of narcotics.
CBP said the shampoo bottles were filled with 35 pounds of liquid cocaine worth an estimated $400,000.
“Our officers are the first line of defense at our ports of entry, so they are trained in the various smuggling methods people use to bring illicit goods into the U.S.,” said CBP Port Director Shawn Polley. “We take every opportunity to intercept those illicit goods before they enter our communities. In this case, it was 35 pounds of liquid cocaine.”
CBP returned the would-be smuggler to Colombia and the narcotics were seized and turned over to the Houston Police Department for further investigation.
