Wheelchair packed with 23 pounds of cocaine found at North Carolina airport

by: Justyn Melrose, Nexstar Media Wire

Posted: Jun 3, 2022 / 05:09 PM MDT

Up to date: Jun 3, 2022 / 06:07 PM MDT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WGHP) — In the event you’re hoping to roll into the airport with cocaine, you may rely on getting caught.

U.S. Customs and Border Safety reviews that officers discovered a wheelchair full of 23 kilos of cocaine at Charlotte Douglas Worldwide Airport on Tuesday.

CPD says Alexander A. Lopez-Morel, 22, flew into the U.S. from the Dominican Republic. Officers investigated the chair and located 4 packages of a white substance contained in the seat cushions. The substance examined constructive for cocaine.

Investigators weighed the packages and found that it added as much as greater than 23 kilos. They estimated the road worth at $378,000.

Lopez-Morel was arrested and charged with felony trafficking in cocaine. The cocaine and wheelchair have been turned over to Homeland Safety Investigations particular brokers, Queen Metropolis’s Border Enforcement Safety Crew and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.

“This seizure demonstrates the dynamic border atmosphere by which CBP officers function at CLT,” mentioned Barry Chastain, CBP space port director for Charlotte. “Our officers are decided to adapt and reply to those threats in an effort to cease narcotics reaching our communities.”