Additional Coverage:
- How an American Airlines mechanic nearly smuggled 25 pounds of cocaine worth $250,000 into the US (newsbreak.com)
A former American Airlines mechanic has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison after attempting to smuggle 25 pounds of cocaine into the United States. According to authorities, Paul Belloisi, 56, was caught with the drugs, valued at $250,000, hidden in the electronics compartment of an aircraft.
The incident occurred at John F. Kennedy International Airport in February 2020, when the plane arrived from Montego Bay, Jamaica.
During a routine search, police discovered 10 bricks of cocaine and replaced them with fake ones coated in a substance that glows under black light. Belloisi was later observed accessing the compartment, and a black light test revealed traces of the substance on his hands.
Belloisi had tools and a specially-altered jacket that could conceal the bricks. His lawyers contended that there was no proof of his involvement in drug trafficking and argued that the sentence was overly severe.
Despite the defense’s arguments, a federal judge in New York upheld the nine-year sentence for charges of conspiracy to possess and import cocaine. American Airlines has not yet commented on the case.
Read the full story on Business Insider.