Drug smugglers are pretty creative in their ways of attempting to transport drugs. This time, they've chosen to disguise meth as Snickers candy bars, giving a whole new meaning to the term 'sugar high.'
Long Beach, Calif. Resident Rogelio Mauricio Harris, 34, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday after customs agents caught him trying to smuggle four pounds of methamphetamine out of the U.S. He disguised the meth as Snickers candy bars using chocolate candy coating and the brand wrappers.
Harris was ready to board a plane heading to Japan with his meth treats, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents found something off about a large box with the suspicious looking Snickers. The Snickers were a lot heavier than they should have been.
The officials took a closer look at the candy bars and found that the 45 full-sized snickers contained a white substance instead of caramel and peanuts. The substance turned out to be meth.
As reported by the New York Daily News, the criminal complaint, said each bar "was coated in a chocolate-like substance to make the contents of the package appear to be a real candy bar."
Harris will be charged with possession with intent to distribute for his four pounds of meth which would have gone for $250,000 in Japan. Now Harris could be spending 10 years to a lifetime in prison if he is convicted.
"This scheme involved considerable planning and preparation and it shows the lengths to which smugglers will go in an attempt to elude detection," Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Los Angeles, said in a statement, as quoted by the Daily News. "The fact this ruse was detected should serve as a deterrent for others who might be considering trying similar tactics.'
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
