NEW YORK (CMC) – The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency says it has detained a passenger arriving at the John F Kennedy International Airport for trying to smuggle 2.5 pounds of cocaine into the United States.

CBP said that Chevelle Rusheen Nesbeth, who boarded a flight from Montego Bay, Jamaica, tried to smuggle the drugs in the handrails of her suitcase.

“Fortunately, US Customs and Border Protection officers were there to derail her attempt,” the CBP said in a statement.

It said during the course of the inspection, CBP officers felt an “unusually dense hand rail in each suitcase.

“Ms Nesbeth was escorted to a private search room where CBP officers probed the hand rails and discovered a white powdery substance which tested positive for cocaine,” it said.

CBP said Nesbeth was arrested for the importation of a controlled substance and was turned over to US Homeland Security Investigations.

The total weight of cocaine seized was about 2.5 lbs. with an approximate street value of more than US$45,000, CBP said.

“This latest seizure demonstrates the vigilance of our CBP officers, and their excellence in detecting those who would try to smuggle these illegal substances,” said Robert E Perez, director, Field Operations New York.

He said Nesbeth now faces US federal narcotics smuggling charges and will be prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office in the US Eastern District Court of New York.