A man who had arrived for a layover at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina was arrested Tuesday after officials say he faked a disability to hide more than 23 pounds of cocaine under the seat cushion of his motorized wheelchair.
Alexander Antonio Lopez-Morel, 22, was on his way to Newark, New Jersey, from the Dominican Republic when he was met by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents who found four packages of the hard drug concealed under his wheelchair seat cushion, according to WSOC-TV 9.
“His answers didn’t match up. His physical purported handicap did not match up. That was a tell-tale sign that there was something suspicious,” Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Mike Prado said.
The 23 pounds of cocaine was estimated to be worth $378,000 at street value, according to a Friday CBP press release.
“That’s unbelievable. That’s crazy,” said Richard Killian, another passenger at the airport. “What I am really upset and concerned about are our young people being bombarded with drugs.”
The CBP said Lopez-Morel is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. Investigators believe the suspected drug trafficker, along with many other drug dealers, use the Charlotte Airport because of its “size and location on the East Coast.”
According to WSOC-TV 9, “Drug trafficking through Charlotte Douglas is such a concern that Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and local police launched a new border enforcement security task force in March.”
Since 2021, investigators have seized more than $5 million from drug dealers using the airport to traffic fentanyl, cocaine, meth, and marijuana.
Lopez-Morel was charged with a felony for trafficking cocaine, and his wheelchair and drug packages were sent to the HSI to be investigated.
“This seizure demonstrates the dynamic border environment in which CBP officers operate at CLT,” CBP Charlotte Area Port Director Barry Chastain said. “Our officers are determined to adapt and respond to these threats in an effort to stop narcotics reaching our communities.”