see also: in March 2007 News Releases:   SBInet Completes Test of First Mobile Sensor Tower   Nogales Border Patrol Seizes 6 Tons of Marijuana from Garbage Truck   El Paso CBP Officers Make Largest Drug Bust In 2 Years   CBP Seizes $709,291 in Undeclared Currency at Laredo Port of Entry   Border Patrol Seizes $13 Million in Cocaine Near Hidalgo, Texas   El Paso CBP Offers Tips For Quick, Safe Easter Holiday Border Crossings   Border Patrol Assists Man Bitten by Snake ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Detroit – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport detained a 32-year-old U.S. citizen arriving from Accra, Ghana via Amsterdam after discovering approximately 2.25 pounds of heroin in his luggage.

CBP officers encountered Augustine Owusu arriving from his country of birth, Ghana, on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam Friday. Owusu was traveling alone and claimed to have traveled to Accra, Ghana for 23 days to visit his daughter.

He was selected for a baggage check and directed to the baggage control secondary area. During the baggage examination one of his suitcases was found to contain a statue wrapped in foam packing material. The statue was subjected to an x-ray exam and officers discovered anomalies, apparent changes in density, within its core.

Upon drilling into the statue the officers discovered a plastic material and a brown powdery substance. Verification of possible drugs was made by the use of an onsite CBP Border Patrol canine unit that responded positively to the statue. Owusu was immediately detained and the statue was opened to reveal approximately 2.25 pounds of the brown powdery substance, which tested, positive for heroin.

“Customs and Border Protection Officers in the airport environment have contact with hundreds of passengers every day” said Port Director Sidney Aki, Customs and Border Protection. “By using their experience, training and available technology, they are able to search out those who are attempting to break our laws and, as in this case introduce dangerous items into our communities.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.