Norfolk, Va. – When U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers have $100 million dollars’ worth of cocaine on their hands, they do not exactly advertise where it is located. And when that amount was found in Norfolk, NewsChannel 3 had to follow strict guidelines to even cover the story.
In a secret room our news crew was shown the 732 pounds of loot.
Border protection officers confiscated the drugs from a storage container at the Port of Norfolk back in December. Officials say the drugs were smuggled into the United States inside fruit juice cans.
When NewsChannel 3 obtained video of the drugs, we were surrounded by dozens of heavily armed officers, and because so much effort goes into housing the drugs, federal law is very specific about what must happen to the gigantic amount of dope.
The drugs are tested and sealed in evidence bags to be used in court, then officials have to get rid of it somehow.
“We are not going to get into specifics how Customs destroys a commodity, but obviously there is plenty of evidence out on the Internet on how that is accomplished,” says Louis Rossero with Customs and Border Protection.
Online evidence points to massive burning; after all, federal law dictates that if drugs seized are not needed as evidence in court they must be destroyed within 90 days because housing large amounts of narcotics can pose an even bigger threat.
Related:
PHOTOS: Record 732 pounds of cocaine seized at Port of Norfolk
