Rosa Almonte De Ortega’s liquor bottle filled with heroin at JFK, officials say

The bottle of Mama Juana felt “unusually heavy” to customs officials at Kennedy Airport, authorities said.

Upon closer inspection U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers determined the bottle belonging to a woman arriving on a flight from Santiago, Dominican Republic, last week actually contained 32 pellets of heroin — with a street value of approximately $27,000, officials said Tuesday.

The passenger, identified by officials as Rosa Almonte De Ortega, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was arrested and charged with the importation of a controlled substance following the search on Jan. 6, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said. De Ortega now faces smuggling charges to be prosecuted in Queens, officials said.

In a statement released Tuesday, Robert E. Perez, director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said: “Heroin is a dangerous narcotic, and CBP does its part in keeping these drugs off the streets. Our officers are determined to protect the American people from these illicit substances.”

Mama Juana is a drink from the Dominican Republic concocted by allowing rum, red wine, and honey to soak in a bottle with tree bark and herbs. Authorities said the bottle being transported into the country by De Ortega was in a checked suitcase.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”