Heroin found hidden in dog crate at New York's Kennedy Airport
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Authorities said heroin was found hidden in a false bottom inside this dog crate at Kennedy Airport. (Queens County District Attorney)
Two men were arrested on drug charges after heroin was found hidden in the false bottom of a dog crate containing a Labrador retriever that had been shipped from Puerto Rico to New York.
Samuel Seabrooks, 35, of the Bronx, and Carlos Betancourt-Morales, 27, of Carmel, were arraigned on drug possession and conspiracy charges Sunday, according to the Queens district attorney's office.
Prosecutors said Seabrook and Betancourt-Morales met up at a Bronx IHOP restaurant Friday night and traveled in separate vehicles to the American Airlines Priority Parcel Services at Kennedy Airport.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The two men had a brief conversation before Betancourt-Morales entered the cargo building and signed for a delivery receipt for the dog crate, prosecutors said. He was stopped by police as he pushed the crate on a rolling cart toward the building's exit.
After obtaining a search warrant, authorities recovered 10 plastic wrapped packages containing more than 22 pounds of heroin with a street value of more than $1 million. The packages were stamped with the Nike swoosh logo and a five-pointed star.
The two New York men face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Information on their attorneys was not immediately available.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Statistics show that, unfortunately, heroin has made a comeback in New York City and its surrounding suburbs, with fatal overdoses outpacing homicides," said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Animal rights activists condemned the use of a "helpless canine as a drug mule," said Jean Shafiroff of the American Human Society. She called for better animal control at New York City airports.