New York customs officers find cocaine in crotch of man's underwear

NEW YORK, May 4 (UPI) -- A Jamaican man arriving at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport was found to have a pound of cocaine stuffed inside his underwear.

U. S. Customs and Border Protection said officers at the airport searched Romario Lewis, a Jamaican citizen who flew April 16 to New York from Kingston, Jamaica, and discovered he was hiding two packages of cocaine in the groin area of his underwear.

Investigators said the packages totaled 1 pound -- approximately $19,000 worth of cocaine.

"This seizure is another example of our CBP officers being ever vigilant in protecting the United States from the distribution of illicit drugs," said Robert Perez, director of CBP's New York Field Operations.

Lewis was arrested on federal narcotics smuggling charges.