Cocaine worth over US$450,000 discovered in WHEELCHAIR after St Lucia–NYC flight

US Customs and Border Protection agents in New York City have arrested a 33-year-old woman at JFK International Airport caught using a motorised wheelchair filled with cocaine.

Yoncela Stanley had just landed in the States on a JetBlue flight from St Lucia on Sunday when officers noticed something was wrong with the chair’s back seat cushion, according to the New York Daily News.

Leon Hayward, acting director of field operations New York, 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.”

Stanley reportedly appeared nervous when she presented her baggage, prompting Customs agents to bring over a K-9 dog.

The dog alerted the officers to the contraband, authorities said.

When the agents removed the cushion, they found it unusually heavy.

This was explained when at least six bricks and two bags of cocaine were discovered.

The total wight was approximately 27 pounds (12kg), officials said, and the drugs had an estimated street value of US$468,000.

Stanley was charged with federal narcotics smuggling and was ordered held on US$50,000 bail during a brief arraignment on Monday in Brooklyn Federal Court.