A man headed to Japan was taken into custody at San Francisco International Airport last week after customs agents spotted that he had ingested 100 cocaine-filled tablets.
Customs and Border Protection spokesman Frank Falcon said on Tuesday that Emmanuel Amankwa was arrested Wednesday as he was trying to board a flight to Japan, but caught the attention of customs officials during his interview. Falcon wouldn't be specific, but he said usually, people act nervous or exhibit other behaviors that customs agents pick up on.
Amankwa, a United States citizen, was taken to a hospital, where he "passed" the 100 pellets - weighing more than 2.5 pounds - in a natural way, Falcon said. He added that many of the pellets - more than an inch long - tested positive for cocaine.
Amankwa was taken into federal custody, but Falcon didn't have more details on his next court appearance.
Falcon said that ingesting narcotics is a common way for smugglers to transport drugs across borders.
