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Ammon News - A random bag check at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City led to a massive drug bust that involved several pounds of frozen jumbo shrimp.

Federal prosecutors revealed on Saturday that they had arrested a Guyanese American man, 22, after he allegedly tried to smuggle several pounds of cocaine into the country, which was cleverly hidden in several packages of frozen jumbo shrimp he had placed in his luggage.

A random bag check by the authorities at JFK led to the unusual bust of Zacharie Scott, who was flying to the U.S. from the South American country that's situated between Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname. The New York Post reported that he had been flying on American Airlines Flight 2694.

According to NBC New York, federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said he had checked two bags, both filled with packages of the frozen marine delicacies. It remains unclear what prompted the authorities to check the bags or if the check was done completely at random.

The Post reported that officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection chose Scott for a secondary screening after he had deplaned, during which he allegedly admitted to owning both suitcases.

Inside, the authorities found the packages of shrimp and cut a few open to investigate them — which would not necessarily be unusual, as the agency and the U.S. government as a whole have strict policies when it comes to bringing food items into the country that often change based on health guidelines and warnings, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Mirror