see also: in April 2002:   Congressmen Honor U.S. Customs Employees   U.S. Customs Inspectors in Hidalgo Seize $390,000 in Methamphetamine   U.S. Customs Inspectors in Laredo Arrest Iraqi Fugitive Wanted by FBI in Michigan   U.S. Customs Inspectors, Del Rio, Seize 2,591 Pounds of Cocaine - Largest U.S.-Mexico Border Coke Seizure in FY 2002 To Date   Customs Kids Join Parents on the Job as Part of "Bring Your Child To Work Day" Event   U.S. Customs Service Patrol Officers Seize 1,678 Pounds of Marijuana on Monday   Maryland Woman Arrested for Transporting Over 30,000 Pills ...more

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NEW YORK, N.Y. -- U.S. Customs Service officials today announced the seizure of approximately one kilogram of heroin from a five-year-old girl who was traveling alone on a commercial flight from Colombia.

"Sending a five-year-old girl alone on a plane to smuggle heroin represents a new low - even for drug traffickers," said Joe Webber, the U.S. Customs Service Special Agent-in-Charge for New York. "This case demonstrates the depths to which trafficking organizations have sunk to ply their deadly trade."

On April 18, an unaccompanied minor arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport aboard Avianca Airlines Flight #020 from Bogota, Colombia. The girl was in possession of two hard-sided suitcases and two baggage claim tickets that matched the tags on the suitcases.

A U.S. Customs inspector conducting a routine examination opened one of the girl's suitcases and noticed an unusually thick side. The inspector probed the siding of the suitcase and discovered a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for heroin.

U.S. Customs officers seized the heroin, which weighed approximately 1,042 grams. An investigation into those responsible for sending the girl on the heroin smuggling venture is underway.

U.S. Customs officers have turned over the girl to the Administration for Child Services. The identity of the girl is not being released due to her status as a minor.