Wheelchair Stuffed With 23 Pounds Of Cocaine Discovered By Airport Officials

Airport officials have seized $378,000 (£302,000) worth of cocaine that had been hidden inside a wheelchair. 

Four packages of the drug were found ‘within the seat cushions’ of the electric wheelchair, amounting to a total of more than 23lbs of cocaine – and a street value of $378,000. 

Lopez-Morel, who is a lawful permanent US resident, was placed under arrest, while the wheelchair and cocaine were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, Queen City’s Border Enforcement Security Team (BEST) and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for further investigation. 

CBP Area Port Director Charlotte Barry Chastain said: "This seizure demonstrates the dynamic border environment in which CBP officers operate at CLT. 

"Our officers are determined to adapt and respond to these threats in an effort to stop narcotics reaching our communities." 

Lopez-Morel was charged with felony trafficking in cocaine.

The drugs were said to be worth more than 50 million Swiss francs (US$50m, £41m). 

Police said Nespresso staff at the plant in Romont, in the western Swiss canton of Fribourg, found the white substance while unloading the bags of coffee beans that had arrived from Brazil. 

"As a police investigation is underway, we cannot share more details. We want to reassure consumers that all our products are safe to consume.”