C.B.P. News Release

Baltimore CBP Seizes 7 Pounds of Heroin; Baltimore Resident Arrested

(Friday, January 29, 2010)

Baltimore - Customs and Border Protection officers at Baltimore-Washington International Airport arrested Baltimore resident Suleiman Zakaria on Tuesday after allegedly smuggling nearly seven pounds of heroin in a suitcase.

Zakaria, 26, had just returned from Ghana shortly after 6 p.m. when a roving CBP officer referred him for a secondary examination. CBP officers routinely staff the passenger arrivals area and randomly select passengers for secondary examinations.

CBP officers discovered 3.08 kilograms, or six pounds, 13 ounces of heroin in hidden in a false bottom of a suitcase Zakaria allegedly possessed. CBP officers also seized $5,980 Zakaria possessed. The heroin has a wholesale value of up to $430,000.

“This seizure significantly illustrates CBP’s multi-layered approach to combating narcotics smuggling in the international passenger environment,â€