Airport officials find $60K worth of fentanyl hidden in candles at JFK

A food courier arriving at JFK Airport from Mexico was busted with $60,000 worth of fentanyl inside three candles, customs officials said on Wednesday. 

Eulalio Gomez-Zuniga arrived at JFK on a flight from Mexico City on Sunday. Upon arrival, Gomez-Zuniga had his belongings inspected by Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists, according to officials. 

While specialists were X-raying his bags, they found three cylindrical objects with “anomalies” inside, authorities said. The three objects were determined to be candles.

“The CBP Agriculture Specialists requested assistance from CBP Officers, who inserted a probe into one candle. When the probe was removed, a white powder was discovered, which subsequently tested positive for fentanyl,” the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. 

Authorities seized about 2.5 pounds of fentanyl from the candles, which has an estimated street value of $60,000. 

Gomez-Zuniga, an American citizen, was arrested for importing a controlled substance and was handed over to the New York Police Department. He faces state narcotics smuggling charges and will be prosecuted in New York, authorities said. 

“Fentanyl poses a significant threat to our nation, as it is oftentimes added to other substances that can have deadly consequences,” Francis J. Russo, Director of CBP’s New York Field Operations, said in a statement.  

“The fentanyl seized was 73% pure, and capable of causing considerable overdoses in our community,” Russo added. “As America’s unified border security agency, our employees are determined to protect the public from fentanyl entering our neighborhoods and destroying our communities.”