Cocaine Found Hidden Inside Woman's Underwear At Kennedy Airport

A woman faces federal drug charges after trying to smuggle cocaine worth $94,000 in her bra, body, and purse.

Authorities arrested the suspect, identified as Yerlina Lantigua Hernandez DeNova, on April 9 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. US Customs and Border Protection officials said she presented herself for inspection when she arrived at the Queens hub on April 9.

Border agents discovered three plastic pellets containing white powder in DeNova's purse at first. CBP officers reportedly discovered matching pellets in DeNova's bra when she was led to a private search room.

During the interrogation, DeNova admitted she had inserted pellets into her body vaginally and anally. According to Customs and Border Protection, DeNova was "full of pellets."

Investigators recovered about 100 pellets of white powder from "on and in" DeNova's body upon her arrival from the Dominican Republic. She used cocaine in all of the pellets.

Officials confiscated a total of three pounds.

She got arrested, and authorities handed her over to Homeland Security Investigations.

"This seizure is another example of our CBP officers being ever vigilant in protecting the United States from the distribution of these illicit drugs," Marty Rabon, acting director of CBP's New York field operations, said in a statement.

Aside from felony charges, prosecutors said DeNova is now facing federal drug smuggling charges. US Attorney's Office in the US Eastern District Court of New York will prosecute her. It wasn't clear if she had hired an attorney right away.

This is not the first time officers caught illegal drug users attempting to import cocaine into the state. Police arrested a man at JFK Airport on Dec. 30, 2020 after he allegedly tried to smuggle five pounds of cocaine in a can of tomato paste.

Keiter Elian Morales arrived at the airport on a flight from the Dominican Republic. Customs officers inspected a big container of "Bella Tomato" paste. Officers found the cocaine, which had a street value of $160,000 when they opened the can.

Authorities arrested Morales. They sent him to Homeland Security Investigations for importing a controlled drug. Like what would happen to DeNova, the US Attorney's Office prosecuted Morales in the US Eastern District Court of New York on federal drug smuggling charges.