Three foreign nationals travelling to Paris, France, on the same flight,t were arrested at Las Américas International Airport with suitcases featuring double-bottom compartments.
Inside these hidden compartments, authorities seized five packages resembling sheets suspected to contain cocaine.
Agents from the National Directorate of Drug Control (DNCD) and the Specialized Airport Security Corps (CESAC), under the coordination of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, were conducting surveillance and inspections in one of the terminal’s departure areas. Using an X-ray machine, they detected suspicious images in several pieces of luggage.
Following the acting prosecutor’s instructions and in the presence of the detainees, the protocol for opening three suitcases was initiated. This revealed a total of five packages, wrapped in gray and black adhesive tape, weighing over eight kilograms, presumably cocaine.
A Brazilian, a Spaniard, and a U.S. national are being held in connection with the case and will be handed over to the Permanent Attention Jurisdiction of the Santo Domingo province to face coercive measures within the next few hours.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the DNCD are investigating to determine if other individuals are involved in the seizure of the substance, which was hidden in luggage with double-bottom compartments.
Authorities are maintaining strict intelligence and surveillance at airports and ports, which has enabled them to thwart multiple drug trafficking operations attempting to bring narcotics to the United States and Europe.
The suspected cocaine sheets were sent to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) for further analysis.