The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office arrested a New Jersey man who was carrying approximately two kilograms of cocaine disguised as lollipops, chocolates and toffee, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s office said Friday.
Miguel Andrade, 34, of Paterson, N.J., was taken into custody Feb. 7 after he left a Sterling business on Holly Avenue. He allegedly used a Sterling-based import business to smuggle a large quantity of cocaine from South America. Andrade, who was in the United States illegally, is charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and is currently being held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center, the Washington Post reported.
According to the sheriff’s office, the cocaine was disguised as 20 bags of candy containing 600 individually wrapped packets of cocaine with an estimated street value of $100,000. The drugs were smuggled through Dulles Airport in a briefcase that easily cleared security.
Andrade picked up the items at the import business on Thursday, authorities said. They also added that the business was unaware that its services were being used to bring narcotics into the community.
According to Loudoun narcotics officers, the drugs were part of a large shipment of cocaine that had arrived in the United States from South America.
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