WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. and Colombian officials have arrested 78 people who allegedly used artwork, furniture and clothing to smuggle Colombian heroin into the United States.
The joint yearlong investigation by the Colombian National Police and the U.S. Dug Enforcement Administration also resulted in the seizure of 171 pounds of heroin, reports the CNN. The effort was called Operation High Step because some drugs were found in dancing shoes.
The arrests were made in both countries and include 19 Colombians. The DEA said heroin bricks were hidden in the frames of paintings, secreted in furniture and sewn into clothing and shoes.
"Behind the allure of artwork lurked the poison of heroin," DEA Administrator Karen Tandy said in the statement. Officials estimate the drug ring moved 25 kilograms of heroin each month into the United States, where it then was processed before being sold.
