see also: in November 2008:   Thanksgiving Day Marijuana Seizure Yields 450 Pounds at Douglas Port of Entry   Registered Sex Offender Intercepted by CBP at Pacific Highway Entry   CBP Officers Seize 145 Pounds of Ecstasy at Vermont Entry   CBP Officers in Boston Seize Undeclared $19,300   CBP Advises Travelers of Temporary Construction at Otay Mesa Border Crossing   CBP Officers in Niagara Falls Arrest Man Wanted in California   Customs and Border Protection Officers in New York Arrest Imposter ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

Philadelphia – When one opens a can of cool, refreshing Coca-Cola, one would expect to discover the popular beverage inside. When U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers opened two Coca-Cola cans that arrived aboard an U.S. Airways flight from Jamaica on Friday, they found another sort of “Coke,” the white, powdery kind.

Inside the cans, CBP officers discovered two vacuum-packed baggies with about 16 combined ounces of a substance that field-tested positive for cocaine. One bag weighed in at 9.19 ounces and the second bag weighed in at or 6.74 ounces.

CBP officers seized the cocaine, which will eventually be destroyed.

“This seizure significantly illustrates CBP’s resolve at detecting the creative methods used by illicit narcotics smugglers to secret their dangerous drugs into the United States,” said Allan Martocci, CBP’s area port director for the Port of Philadelphia. “For many of us, it is the first time we’ve witnessed narcotics smuggled in cola cans, but for each one of these unique smuggling methods we detect, it is one less concealment method bad guys can use.”

The flight arrived to Philadelphia from Montego Bay, Jamaica at about 6:30 p.m., last Friday.

“These smugglers attempts not only hurt American citizens who fall prey to these dangerous and habitual narcotics, but they also hurt American businesses through sick days or diminished productivity, increased health care costs, or impacts to brand integrity,” said Michael Lovejoy, CBP’s director of Baltimore field operations. “Coca-Cola, whose products are prevalent on many international and domestic flights, just happened to be this smuggler’s target of opportunity.”

CBP officers routinely conduct random inspections of international flights that arrive from all over the world searching for narcotics, unreported currency, or other prohibited items.

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.