Thread: Feds find 100 bricks of cocaine hidden in beer shipment from Mexico

Feds at Staten Island port find 100 bricks of cocaine hidden in beer shipment from Mexico, officials say

By John M. Annese/Staten Island Advance
on February 27, 2014 at 3:24 PM


A pair of 20-foot cargo containers from a ship are lowered by a crane at the New York Container Terminal in the Howland Hook section of Mariners Harbor on Staten Island.

Staten Island Advance file photo

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A beer shipment from Mexico to Canada was packed with an illegal surprise, according to federal officials -- more than 240 pounds of cocaine.

Authorities found the drugs during a "routine container inspection" at the New York Container Terminal on Staten Island, according to federal Homeland Security officials.

The container was on its way to Halifax, Canada, said Steve Rudden a spokesman from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, when it was intercepted on Staten Island on Jan. 5.

Federal officials made the discovery public on Thursday. So far, no arrests had been made, and the investigation is ongoing, Rudden said.

According to Rudden, Customs and Border Protection officers working with the New York Border Enforcement Task Force found several bags, holding 100 bricks of cocaine, with a street value of $5 million.

"This is a significant seizure," said Robert E. Perez, director of Customs and Border Protections' New York field operations, in a prepared statement. "The ongoing partnership between CBP and HSI continues to produce results that protect the American public. This intercept prevents a large quantity of drugs from getting to the streets and in the hands of our children."

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