Customs and Border Protection officials who worked this month in the port of Cincinnati seized 20 kilograms of cereal flakes that may have been “frozen” but not with sugar.
The agency’s “narcotics-detecting dog”, Bico, was the first to warn that something was wrong with the cargo from Peru, officials said.
When the officers opened a box marked “Corn Flakes”, the contents included a white powder and a grayish layer, according to a press release. Tests confirmed that the content included cocaine.
The final destination of the shipment was a private residence in Hong Kong.
Smugglers will hide narcotics in anything imaginable, Cincinnati Port director Richard Gillespie said in a press release praising his team’s work to find the unusual stock.
The 22 kilograms of cereal mixed with drugs were estimated to have a market value of more than $ 2.5 million.
On a typical day in 2020, the CBP said, an average of 3,677 pounds of drugs were seized at U.S. ports of entry.