Woman Charged With Smuggling Cocaine In Wheelchair At Logan Airport
BOSTON (CBS) – A Dominican woman has been indicted for allegedly attempting to smuggle four bricks of cocaine through Logan Airport customs using a wheelchair.
U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz announced on Thursday that Ireline Aponte Melende, 30, of the Dominican Republic, was indicted in U.S. District Court in Boston for an incident at Logan Airport in May.
Melende arrived at Logan Airport on May 10 and was using a motorized wheelchair.
The wheelchair was x-rayed, and Customs and Border Protection officers noticed something was out of place with its batteries.
After opening the batteries, officers found four bricks containing a white powdery substance. Preliminary tests showed the substance was cocaine.
Melende was arrested on a criminal complaint at the time of the incident. On Thursday she was indicted for unlawful importation of a controlled substance.
The charge comes with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.