FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A Puerto Rico man is charged with attempting to smuggle 21 pounds of cocaine into Florida disguised in bags of candy, authorities said.
Jose Manuel Torres Perez, 18, arrived on an Avianca Airlines flight from Bogota to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Monday, The Miami Herald reported.
A Customs and Border Protection officer found five paper shopping bags of clothes and bags of candy in Perez's luggage.
Noticing the bottoms of the candy bags were unusually thick, officers sliced them open and discovered a white powder that tested positive for cocaine.
The candy was also tested and came up positive for cocaine, officers said.
Torres, of Puerto Rico, is charged with importing 11 pounds or more of cocaine into the United States and could face 10 years to life in prison, federal officials said.
Investigators said Torres told them someone nicknamed "New Guy'' offered him $8,000 for delivering the cocaine from Bucaramanga, Colombia, to New York, the Herald reported.
