Fly Jamaica Airways crew member held at JFK

A Fly Jamaica Airways crew member who attempted to smuggle US$160,000 worth of cocaine into the United States, is facing US  federal narcotics smuggling charges.

Hugh Hall, a Jamaican, was arrested last week after Customs and Border Protection, CBP, officers found four packages of the drug strapped to his legs under his pants.

According to a CBP spokesperson, Hall had approximately nine pounds of cocaine taped to his legs.

“This seizure is another example of our CBP officers being ever vigilant in protecting the United States from the distribution of illicit drugs,” Acting Director of CBP’s New York Field Operations Leon Hayward said on Wednesday.

It’s reported that Hall, a flight attendant, arrived at the airport on March 17, on a flight from Montego Bay, Jamaica “and presented himself for inspection.”

The CBP says Hall was escorted to a private search room where the officers discovered four packages taped to his legs, all of which contained a white powder that tested positive for cocaine.

CBP says he was arrested for the importation of a controlled substance and was turned over to US Homeland Security Investigations.

Hall will be prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District Court of New York.