Man Arrested At BWI Trying To Smuggle Cocaine Inside Wheelchair Cushions, Officials Say

By FOX45
Posted on 06/28/22 | News Source: FOX45

A New Jersey man was arrested at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshal Airport this month after authorities said he tried to smuggle more than 30 pounds of cocaine hidden inside a motorized wheelchair.

Gabriel Ruiz, 34, of Union City, N.J., faces charges of narcotics importation and drug possession.

Ruiz flew into BWI from Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic on June 20. Officials with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection recommended he have a secondary examination. During that examination, officers X-ray his Jazzy 614 electric wheelchair and found usual readings from the seat and back cushion. Officials said they found 13 plastic-wrapped bricks of cocaine inside. Tests confirmed the white powder was cocaine, CBP said.

Officials said the cocaine hidden inside the chair could have been sold for nearly $1 million.

CBP officials said this is the second time in two months that officers found drugs hidden inside a motorized wheelchair. On May 31, officers found 23 pounds of cocaine inside a wheelchair in Charlotte, North Carolina.

That traveler had also flown to the United States from the Dominican Republic.