A U.S. citizen residing in Guyana was arrested Friday at John F. Kennedy International Airport for allegedly concealing cocaine within bags of shrimp, NBC New York reported.
Zacharie Scott reportedly arrived in the U.S. with two suitcases that seemed to contain nothing out of the ordinary, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, according to the outlet. During the standard customs screening process, however, Scott’s luggage was selected for a more thorough secondary inspection by Customs and Border Protection officers, according to the outlet.
Upon opening the suitcases, the officers were met with a sight of “loose clothing and multiple packages of frozen jumbo shrimp wrapped in sealed plastic,” according to NBC New York. After cutting open the shrimp packages, officers reportedly found a white, powdery substance — later identified as cocaine. The total quantity of the drug recovered amounted to approximately 18.45 kilograms, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Cartel Made Mexican Politician Smuggle 92 Pounds Of Cocaine Into US, Lawyer Says)
A 22-year-old man was busted at the airport on Friday reportedly trying to smuggle multiple bricks of cocaine hidden among jumbo shrimp.https://t.co/1JYJoibAfP
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) January 20, 2024
Scott reportedly confessed to the arresting officers that he had agreed to smuggle the drugs into the country for a payment of between $5,000 and $6,000, according to federal prosecutors, NBC New York noted. He remains in custody and awaits a bail hearing scheduled Tuesday.
As of the of publication, a request for a statement from his public defender remains unanswered, NBC New York reported.