9 Investigates: Drug smuggling at OIA on the rise, officials say

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Drug traffickers have set their sights on Orlando International Airport, Channel 9's investigative reporter Daralene Jones learned.

The amount of drugs being smuggled through the airport has increased significantly, as traffic at the airport continues to grow, authorities said. OIA set a record in 2016 with 42 million people traveling through the airport.

Only 9 Investigates was allowed behind the terminals at OIA and access to areas where U.S. Customs and Border Protection screens passengers suspected of smuggling drugs into the U.S.

The illegal goods and drugs are stored in cargo containers on the airport property once they are confiscated by agents. In the last year, agents found drugs mixed in bags of coffee, concealed in the lining of luggage, even boxes of food, disguised as care packages for loved ones here in Central Florida.

“Probably what we see the most here is cocaine,” said U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chief of Staff Stephen DuBose.

Drug traffickers tried last year to smuggle in more than 1,500 kilograms of drugs, including cocaine, heroin, marijuana, meth and prescription pills. That is about 3,300 pounds; the size of a walrus.

That's also more than double 2015, when agents intercepted 685 kilograms, or about 1,500 pounds.

An agent showed 9 Investigates a passenger who flew in a rum cake from Jamaica, but it had more than rum in the dessert.

“They actually cut out a piece of the rum cake and (they) discovered a brick of what turned out to be cocaine. And there were five more inside of that bag,” DuBose said.

The agents only catch a portion of the drugs. They rely on training and answers given during Customs questioning and behavioral observations from the moment a person deplanes and walks into the airport.

The drugs that make it past OIA end up on our streets, or make their way into other states.

The number of drug deaths in the state have continued to increase in the last three years.

Twenty-six people were charged last month in a federal bust led by the U.S. Attorney General station in Puerto Rico. The group, including airline employees, is accused of running a $4 million drug smuggling operation from Puerto Rico. The feds believe the suspects flew through Orlando, Miami, New York and Philadelphia.

“As Orlando grows as the international traffic continues to grow, we don't expect that to slow down,” DuBose said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents this week confiscated 26 pounds of cocaine strapped to the legs of smugglers at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City.

Cox Media Group