. Ms De Rivas had arrived at JFK in New York on a flight from Punta Cana, in her home country of the Dominican Republic, and could have gone through security in the loaded wheelchair. But suspicions arose when the chair's wheels began to malfunction and customs officers decided to take a closer look. A spokesperson for the US Customs and Border Protection Service (CBP) said: "The wheels on this passenger's wheelchair stopped going round and round on arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport when US Customs and Border Protection officers seized her loaded wheelchair. "CBP officers noticed that the wheels on the wheelchair were not turning, so they x-rayed the wheelchair and noticed an anomaly in all four wheels. The weight of the cocaine seized was approximately 28 pounds, equivalent to approximately 75,000 doses (100-200 mg) ( CBP) "CBP officers probed the four wheels revealing a white powder that tested positive for cocaine." The weight of the cocaine seized was approximately 28 pounds, equivalent to approximately 75,000 doses (100-200 mg). The spokesperson said: "A lethal dose of cocaine is roughly one to three grams, so the amount seized by CBP and kept out of our neighbourhoods amounts to roughly 6,000 lethal doses." Ms De Rivas was questioned by customs offic){kind=link}
Emelinda Paulino De Rivas, from the Dominican Republic, was arrested at JFK airport in New York for trying to smuggle cocaine into the United States concealed in her wheelchair.
A woman found with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cocaine in the tyres of her wheelchair has been arrested.
Emelinda Paulino De Rivas was pulled over by customs officials after they noticed the wheels of her wheelchair were no longer spinning properly.
An x-ray revealed tubes of cocaine weighing 28 pounds packed inside the chair’s wheels, with an estimated street value of £377,900 (USD 450,000).
Ms De Rivas had arrived at JFK in New York on a flight from Punta Cana, in her home country of the Dominican Republic, and could have gone through security in the loaded wheelchair.