Cocaine found in soccer balls at Newark airport

In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Immigration and... — In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a soccer ball containing a package of cocaine is shown after being seized at Newark Liberty International Airport. (Dec. 22, 2011) Credit: AP

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSDecember 28, 2011

Customs officers at New Jersey's Newark Liberty Airport say they seized some unusually heavy soccer balls from a Peruvian man's luggage.

It turns out the four deflated balls contained a substance that tested positive as cocaine. Customs say they also found the same powder inside four pair of sandals belonging to the same man, 46-year-old Heber Razuri Leon.

Customs officers say the balls and the sandals were both heavier than they should have been. In all they recovered nearly 5 pounds of cocaine.

It was the second drug discovery in the past week at the airport. Customs also found 1.2 pounds of cocaine inside an "anomaly" in the luggage of 29-year-old Italian citizen Daniela Mastromariono. She arrived on a flight from Costa Rica.

Both travelers face federal charges.

Streaming Now