Yudistir Maharaj claims drugs inserted by somebody else.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: An Indian-origin man from Trinidad & Tobago, Yudistir Maharaj, along with an associate of his, is being held by Customs authorities at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York under allegations that he attempted to smuggle cocaine in the US inside of goat meat.
The incident took place last month, on March 20. One man was found to have cocaine hidden in various packets of frozen goat meat, which he was carrying in a suitcase, while the other had stuffed the cocaine in the crotch region of his pants. The two were held during a routine Customs inspection upon landing at JFK airport from Piarco International Airport, and were subsequently detained and searched.
Customs authorities took the men and searched them, which is when the one with the cocaine in his pants was busted. The contents of Maharaj’s luggage was then X-rayed, at which point cocaine was discovered inside the goat meat. Both men are now being detained by the authorities with the Department of Homeland Security.
Maharaj, 24, and his unnamed accomplice had over $2 million worth of cocaine on their persons, or 3,335.2 grams. The courts charge the two men with “knowingly and intentionally [attempting] to import a controlled substance into the United States.” He had three packets of cocaine in his baggage, which consisted of a black check-in bag, and a smaller laptop bag that was his carry-on.
Just four days later, another man from Trinidad & Tobago, named Alister King, was also found allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country, and also in his groin area. King had 536.9 grams of cocaine on him, worth about $600,000 in street value, according to the Trinidad Express.
Maharaj has reportedly claimed that he did not know the drugs were there, and that they must have been placed there by someone else. A construction worker back in his home country, Maharaj will now face federal charges of drug smuggling, although jail time he faces is not yet known.