PHILADELPHIA – Federal authorities arrested an Italian man Saturday at Philadelphia International Airport for allegedly smuggling nearly 14 pounds of cocaine in his baggage.
Federal authorities arrested Fabio Dalloco, 45, of Italy, after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered nearly 14 pounds of cocaine in his baggage at Philadelphia International Airport June 6, 2015.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers conducted a random enforcement blitz on baggage arriving aboard international flights Saturday. During that operation, officers detected six brick-shaped anomalies while x-raying a bag tagged to Fabio Dalloco, 45, that arrived on a flight from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
CBP officers secured the bag and transported it to the federal inspection station.
Meanwhile, Dalloco approached a CBP officer to complete his international arrivals inspection and the officer referred Dalloco to a comprehensive secondary examination.
In secondary, Dalloco initially denied ownership of the blue Dunlop brand suitcase until officers discovered a baggage tag for the suitcase in Dalloco’s possession.
CBP officers examined the baggage and extracted the six bricks. A probe of the bricks revealed a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine.
The cocaine weighed 6,272 grams or a little more than 13 pounds, 13 ounces, and had a street value of approximately $440,000.
CBP officers and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents arrested Dalloco and turned him over to Philadelphia Police for local prosecution.
“This cocaine seizure and arrest illustrates Customs and Border Protection’s collaboration with our law enforcement partners to intercept dangerous drugs at our nation’s borders before it can cause harm to our communities,” said Susan Stranieri, CBP Port Director for the Area Port of Philadelphia. “Narcotics interdiction remains an enforcement priority for CBP, and a mission that we take very seriously.”
In addition to narcotics enforcement, CBP conducts random inspection operations on inbound and outbound flights and intercepts currency, weapons, prohibited agriculture products and other illicit items. On a typical day in 2014, CBP seized 10,327 pounds of illicit narcotics at and between our nation’s 328 international ports of entry.
Visit the border security section of the website to learn how CBP protects our nation.
Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.