Passengers were found with nearly £300,000 of cocaine strapped to their bodies after stepping off a flight, according to police.

Two men were arrested at New York’s John F Kennedy Airport and photos show them with large packs of white powder taped to their legs and torsos.

The first traveller, US citizen Ariel Garcia, was carrying 11lbs of the Class A drug worth $180,000 (£134,000), according to law enforcement officials.

And the second passenger, Elvin Montilla-Sosa, from the Dominican Republic, was loaded with 12lbs, worth $200,000 (£155,000), authorities say.

The pair arrived in New York after flying from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic on April 19.

Suspicious border guards took the two men into side rooms and carried out body searches.

They discovered huge bags of white powder that tested positive for cocaine and the men now face federal narcotics smuggling charges, authorities say.

Leon Hayward, acting director of field operations for Customs and Border Protection in New York, said: “This latest seizure demonstrates our CBP officers being ever vigilant in protecting the United States from the distribution of these illicit drugs.”

A statement from the agency added: “CBP officers placed them both under arrest and turned them over to Homeland Security Investigations.

“They now face federal narcotics smuggling charges and will be prosecuted by the US attorney’s office in the US Eastern District Court of New York.

“All defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty.”

Source :mirror.co.uk