BALTIMORE, Md. - More than 30 pounds of cocaine was found inside a man's electric wheelchair at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport last week.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers made the drug bust and Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Police officers arrested Gabriel Ruiz, 34, of Union City, N.J.Authorities say CBP officers referred Ruiz on June 20 to a secondary examination after he arrived from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
During that secondary examination, officers x-rayed his Jazzy 614 electric wheelchair and detected anomalies within the seat and back cushions.
Officers probed the cushions and extracted 13 plastic-wrapped bricks that contained a white powdery substance.CBP officers used field test kits and a handheld elemental isotope analysis tool and the powdery substance was confirmed to be cocaine. SUBSCRIBE TO FOX 5 DC ON YOUTUBECBP officers subsequently turned Ruiz and the cocaine over to MDTA Police officers.