A former American Airlines mechanic smuggled 25 pounds of cocaine worth nearly a million dollars — until the flight was marked for random searches.
A federal judge in New York sentenced 56-year-old Paul Belloisi to nine years in prison on Friday for conspiracy to possess and import cocaine.
In February 2020, police arrested New York City’s John F. 10 bricks containing more than 25 pounds of cocaine were found in the electronics compartment of an American Airlines flight at Kennedy International Airport. Department of JusticeAfter arriving from Montego Bay, Jamaica, the plane was selected for a routine search.
The Justice Department said that in their investigation, police removed the cocaine and replaced the bricks with fake bricks covered in a substance that glows when viewed under a black light. While inspecting the plane, they saw Belloisi drag himself into the electronics compartment. When police confronted Belloisi, they shined a black light on his hand and saw a glow that indicated he had moved the brick, according to the press release.
Belloisi was also carrying a tool bag, and the lining of his jacket had cutouts “large enough to hold bricks,” the Justice Department said.
The cocaine had a street value of more than $250,000, police said.
In court, Belloisi’s lawyers said there was no evidence he ever participated in any drug trafficking conspiracy and that the prison sentence was too harsh, according to the Washington Post.
“The sentence went far beyond what was necessary,” attorney David Jason Cohen told the outlet.
American Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Belloisi’s sentence.
Post How an American Airlines mechanic smuggled 25 pounds of cocaine worth nearly $250,000 into the US appeared first Business Insider.