Man disguised as pilot was smuggling 5 pounds of cocaine

April 5 (UPI) -- A Jamaican man posing as a pilot was stopped in New York by officers who found about 5 pounds of cocaine hidden in the lining of his suitcase, authorities said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Mario Hudson took a page from Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the film Catch Me if You Can when he arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport March 27 on a flight from Kingston, Jamaica.

The agency said Hudson, a Jamaican citizen, was wearing a pilot's uniform and claimed to be a "dead-heading crewmember," a term for airline employees flying as passengers to get to another airport for work.

Customers officers discovered Hudson was carrying two fraudulent Delta Airlines ID badges and officers investigating his luggage discovered his suitcase had a false bottom and sides, concealing approximately 5 pounds of cocaine.

The cocaine had an estimated street value of $85,000.

"This seizure demonstrates the vigilance and dedication demonstrated daily by CBP officers at JFK, in keeping these prohibited and dangerous narcotics off the streets of our communities," said Leon Hayward, acting director of CBP Field Operations in New York.

Hudson was arrested and is now facing federal narcotics smuggling charges.