A New Haven woman was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after trying to smuggle more than $64,000 worth of cocaine from Jamaica in her shoes and purse, according to U.S. Customs officials.
Janisha Amalee Atkins, of New Haven, was stopped at JFK on Sept. 19 after flying back from Montego Bay, Jamaica.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, airport authorities found two platform shoes in Atkins’ carry-on luggage “that felt unusually heavy.”
They checked her shoes to find cocaine hidden inside the platforms, and discovered more in the lining of her purse while searching her bags, CBP said.
Homeland Security seized the cocaine, which weighed 3.7 pounds and is worth more than $64,000, according to CBP.
Atkins is charged with smuggling narcotics and will face prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office in New York federal court.
