A former employee of the U.S. Embassy smuggled cocaine in Marlboro cartons and Choco-pie boxes into the United States, the Department of Justice said in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in federal court.
Jairo Eliezer Arias Caceres, a security officer in the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic, smuggled cocaine into various airports in the New York area by disguising the cocaine in various packages, court documents alleged.
Prosecutors accuse Arias Caceres, 35, of building a transnational conspiracy from April 2023 to about December 2023 in which he recruited couriers, paid for and arranged for their travel to and from the Dominican Republic to the United States to deliver the cocaine.
Before Arias Caceres secured a job at the U.S. Embassy, he worked as a security officer for seven years at the airport in Santo Domingo, court documents said.
"While Arias Caceres was supposed to be protecting our diplomats and embassy staff from danger, he was allegedly busy endangering New Yorkers by pumping illegal drugs into our community," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton in a statement.
An attorney for Arias Caceres wasn't immediately listed.
Cocaine has been found hidden in unique containers across the globe in recent months. Last month, Russia said authorities seized 1,800 pounds of cocaine hidden under a shipment of bananas.
In June, Sri Lankan authorities found 22 pounds of cocaine stuffed into three plush toys at the airport.
In February, Colombian authorities seized 220 grams of cocaine packaged in small bags, strategically placed under what authorities described as a "narco wig."
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