Customs agents stop man with six pairs of shoes full of cocaine

Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Customs agents in New York said a man arriving from Guyana was found to be smuggling 4 pounds of cocaine inside six pairs of shoes.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Amaziah Hohenkirk, a Guyanese citizen, was stopped after arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport from Georgetown, Guyana, via Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

Officers searched Hohenkirk's luggage and discovered six pairs of shoes that contained hidden stores of white powder that tested positive for cocaine.

Customs officials said the cocaine weighed about 4 pounds and is worth an estimated $67,000 on the streets.

"This latest seizure demonstrates the vigilance of our CBP officers, and their excellence in detecting those who would try to smuggle these illegal substances," said Robert E. Perez, Director of Field Operations New York for CBP.

Hohenkirk is facing federal narcotics smuggling charges brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the U.S. Eastern District Court of New York.