Authorities at Punta Cana International Airport in the Dominican Republic’s La Altagracia province found a suitcase containing clothing soaked in cocaine.
The discovery was made during a routine verification operation assisted by a dog unit when suspicious images were detected inside the package.
Following instructions from the assistant prosecutor, authorities opened the suitcase and found an array of white clothing, including 68 T-shirts, 63 pairs of socks and 18 pairs of trousers.
All of the items were found to be covered in a substance suspected to be cocaine.
The National Drug Enforcement Agency confirmed the nature of the find, saying: “A total of 149 items of clothing were seized, with white powder soaked between the T-shirts, stockings and trousers, which tested positive for controlled drugs when field tested.”
An Italian man was arrested in connection with the incident and flight records showed he was travelling to France with drug-laced clothing in his luggage.
Hiding illegal drugs in textiles is not a new method of smuggling.
Liquid cocaine is poured into the fabric of a garment, increasing its weight by about 15 percent, and the process is then reversed in a lab to extract the drug without losing a single gram.
