A Guyanese man who said he is a guard at Yankee Stadium in New York was caught with cocaine at the JFK International Airport on December 29 after telling inspectors he had “cooked rabbit” in his luggage.
The New York Daily News reported in today’s edition that three bricks of cocaine were found in the luggage of Roger Levans of Queens.
The report said he got off a Delta Airlines flight from Georgetown on Dec. 29, and wrote on a Customs declaration that he was carrying food items, according to a criminal complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.
“Levans was asked what kind of food items he was carrying, to which he responded ‘cooked rabbit,'” Homeland Security special agent Noah Abbott said in the complaint.
Levans’ three suitcases were passed through an X-ray machine and the inspectors were suspicious about what they picked up, the report said.
The first two bags contained fruits and vegetables – and no rabbit, according to the complaint.
The inspectors then noted that Levans appeared “nervous and anxious” when they peered inside the third suitcase, the report said.
“Again, no rabbit – but there were three brick-shaped packages wrapped in brown masking tape. A Customs and Border Protection agent poked them, revealing three kilos of cocaine”, the report said.
Levans, who was released on US$100,000 bail, stated in an affidavit that he works for Guardsmark Security as a guard at Yankee Stadium.
Federal defender Heidi Cesare had no immediate comment on the arrest.
The find is likely to add to continuing concerns about the quality of security at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri. While some couriers are held at the airport others are getting through. The most spectacular recently was the transit of a pink suitcase with 50 lbs of cocaine on January 12 last year. The suitcase made it to JFK and the passenger was charged in New York and charges were also laid against persons here.
