The DEA Southeast Laboratory (Miami, Florida) recently received a jewelry box, two decorative fabric bags, and a wooden ukelele, all containing white powders, suspected cocaine (see Photos 11 - 12, below, and 13 - 16, next page). The exhibits were seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel at the Orlando, Florida airport, from a passenger arriving from Panama City, Panama.In the case of the ukelele and the fabric bags, the powders were sealed in plastic, which was in turn wrapped in aluminum foil. In the jewelry box, the powder was wrapped in aluminum foil, that was concealed between the wooden box and the inner lining. Analysis of the powders (total net mass 525.6 grams) by GC/MS and FTIR confirmed 79 - 95% cocaine hydrochloride. These were the first submissions of cocaine smuggled in a ukelele or a jewelry box to the Southeast Laboratory.
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