US customs agents made a surprise discovery when a sniffer dog investigated what looked to be a perfectly innocent shipment of frosted cereal, only to discover that the sugar coating was in fact a large amount of cocaine.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Bico, a narcotic detector dog with US Customs and Border Protection, uncovered the haul of drugs in a shipment of breakfast cereal from South America that was headed to Hong Kong.
“Officers found white powder and the flakes were coated in a grayish substance after the dog alerted on the shipment,” the paper reported.
The value of the drug was estimated at $2.8m.
Richard Gillespie, Cincinnati port director, said in a press statement: “The men and women at the Port of Cincinnati are committed to stopping the flow of dangerous drugs, and they continue to use their training, intuition, and strategic skills to prevent these kinds of illegitimate shipments from reaching the public.”
Frosted cereal flakes – while ingenious – are far from the most unusual way drug smugglers have hidden their illicit product. Others include under a wig, in a pair of fake buttocks, inside hollowed-out pineapples and even under the habits of drug mules pretending to be nuns.
