JFK airport busts man with cocaine strapped to his legs

Juan Carlos Galan Luperon was caught by US Customs officials with $178,000 of cocaine strapped to his legs. Photo / Twitter

A US citizen who returned to New York with 10 pounds of cocaine worth US$164,000 ($236,000) in his pants was arrested last week.

The absurd image obtained shows the cocaine strapped to the Juan Carlos Galan Luperon's legs.

Luperon was returning to the US from the Dominican Republic via John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

US Customs and Border Protection said Luperon was nervous and "bursting out of his pants", which "appeared to be rather snug".

He was taken to a private search room where the packages taped to his body almost looked like leg casts.

This passenger was 'busted' out of his pants by @CustomsBorder #JFK with an estimated $164,000 of Cocaine pic.twitter.com/EdBZniTkfp

— CBP New York City (@CBPNewYorkCity) March 10, 2017

A test determined that the white powder within the packages was cocaine and the estimated street value of the 4.5kg package was determined to be at least US$164,000, reports NBC News.

Luperon could be charged on the federal level with smuggling charges and will be prosecuted by New York's US Attorney office.

In February, an Indian man flying from Singapore to Hyderabad, India was arrested after trying to smuggle 2kg of gold.

About 800g of the gold was found in his bag, hidden in LED lights when he landed in India.

Customs officers searched him via an x-ray scan upon his disembarkation and found that 1.2kg were hidden in his rectum.