A Pennsylvania Importer Is Sentenced for Smuggling Drugs in Produce Boxes
A produce importer in Pennsylvania has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for smuggling cocaine inside boxes of hot peppers, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The man, Humberto Baez, 52, based in Lancaster, was sentenced Thursday for conspiring to import and distribute cocaine and for possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, according to a DEA statement.
Baez was convicted in February 2019.
“Concealing drug shipments with produce is one way drug traffickers try to elude law enforcement. This cat and mouse game evolves over time resulting in law enforcement recovering drugs in various places; such as inside coconuts, wheelchairs, animals, people, tombstones, etc. just to name a few,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan said in the statement.
