$90K of Cocaine Found In Secret Luggage Compartment at BWI Airport

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A woman from Jamaica is under arrest after tens of thousands of dollars worth of cocaine was found inside a hidden compartment in a suitcase at BWI.

Federal agents flagged the woman as suspicious and took her for a secondary screening. That's when they noticed the bottom of her suitcase was thicker than usual, and found the drugs -- 1,300 grams of cocaine, to be exact. Nearly three pounds. The street value is estimated at around $90,000.

"That's a substantial amount of narcotics being smuggled in by one person," says Officer Dave Billiips, of Customers and Border Protection.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Officials say they seize about 9,000 pounds of narcotics coming into the U.S. every single day.

"Smugglers are very innovative," Billips says. "They can hide it in canned food, fake shaving cream cans. We've had it in people's shoe soles."

Just this year, agents nationwide have confiscated three pounds of heroin hidden in sneaker soles, 2,500 pounds of marijuana packaged to look like fresh carrots, two pounds of cocaine in a tiered cake and two-and-a-half pounds in a chocolate icing container.

"The human mind," Billips says. "Any way you can think of doing it, it's probably been done."

That's why federal agents are trying to stay one step ahead at all times.

The Jamaican woman who was arrested at BWI has been turned over to state police for prosecution.

Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook