Cocaine discovered in shoes at airport leads to arrest of 19-year-old New Yorker

HOUSTON – A New York resident was arrested Monday at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) for being in possession of 1.38 kilograms (three pounds) of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas. The investigation is being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

On Dec. 18, Brielle Latoi Orridge, 19, of Bronx, N.Y., arrived at IAH aboard a Continental Airlines flight from Montego Bay, Jamaica, en route to New York City, according to the criminal complaint. Upon her arrival, CBP officers examined Orridge's luggage. A canine alerted the presence of narcotics in two pairs of shoes contained in Orridge's luggage. The criminal complaint alleges that the shoes were probed and yielded a foreign substance which tested positive for cocaine with a gross weight of 1.38 kilograms.

Orridge was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. She is expected to appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Houston on Tuesday.

If convicted, she faces a minimum of five and up to 40 years in federal prison.