Mother, Daughter Accused Of Trying To Smuggle Cocaine Through LAX
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A 54-year-old woman and her 22-year-old daughter have been arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggling more than 10 pounds of cocaine through Los Angeles International Airport.
The pair, both citizens of Spain, were on their way to Australia last Thursday night when Customs and Border Protection officers noticed something unusual in the daughter's checked-in luggage. She had packed two plastic packets of chocolate syrup and two plastic packets of salad dressing which felt unusually thick, according to CBP officials.
Officers probed the packets, which turned out to be packed with a clear plastic bag containing a white paste that tested positive for cocaine and weighed 5.5 pounds, officials said.
The mother's checked-in luggage was subsequently examined and officers found more of the syrup packets holding plastic bags of a yellowish paste-like susbstance that also tested positive for cocaine. That package weighed 4.8 pounds.
Both women were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. Both are being held without bond and have both been charged with possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. If convicted they each face a minimum sentence of five years in a federal prison.
