Guatemalan man admits to smuggling heroin covered in chocolate

NEWARK, N.J. – A Guatemalan citizen confessed Thursday to transporting three kilograms of heroin that had been coated in chocolate in a failed attempt to bring the drugs undetected through Newark Liberty International Airport. This confession is a result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Jacobo Leonel Orellana-Estrada, 21, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of possession with intent to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On June 11, Orellana-Estrada arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport as a passenger aboard a commercial airline flight from Guatemala City. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stopped Orellana-Estrada at customs inspections and searched his luggage. In one of his bags, they discovered what appeared to be six small single-layer cakes that were actually packages of heroin coated in a thin layer of chocolate and wrapped in paper.

The count of possession with intent to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 29, 2018.