Guatemalan citizen caught smuggling 'cocaine cookies' into United States

Rivera Hernandez carried 118 pellets of cocaine baked into a batch of homemade cookies

Cocaine cookies seized at Newark Liberty International Airport

A Guatemalan citizen has been arrested at a New Jersey airport trying to smuggle a batch of cookies containing cocaine with an estimated street value of $52,000 (£30,000).

Mauricio Isidro Rivera Hernandez, 30, arrived to Newark Liberty International Airport on a flight from Guatemala City on June 5. He was carrying 118 pellets of cocaine baked into a batch of homemade cookies as he tried to enter the United States.

Upon arrival, he was asked to take part in what customs officers described as a routine search. Police were alerted by suspicious-looking round cookies, containing a white powder on the inside, that later tested positive for cocaine, according to US authorities.

"Customs and Border Protection officers remain ever vigilant in protecting the United States from the distribution of these dangerous drugs, regardless of the concealment methods employed by these would-be smugglers," said Robert E. Perez, director of CBP's New York field operations.

He has been arrested and faces charges of narcotics smuggling.