Seized at Washington Dulles: Cocaine-Stuffed Clams

In the latest bizarre drug-smuggling attempt at Washington Dulles International Airport, a Central American man was arrested after attempting to sneak cocaine with a street value of $10,000 through customs.

He almost got away with it, until an X-ray revealed the cocaine stuffed into 15 clams, authorities reported Thursday.

Tucked inside his luggage, customs officers discovered a black plastic bag filled with 80 clams. The X-ray revealed that 15 of the bivalves had been cracked open, stuffed with cocaine, and glued back shut.

Smugglers attempt all types of creative concealment methods to sneak their deadly poison into the United States, and this is one of the oddest we've seen, Christopher Hess, director of D.C. Customs and Border Protection, said in a statement.

This passenger took an enormous risk for only five ounces of cocaine, and he now faces very serious narcotics smuggling charges, added Hess.

The man, identified as David Poscasangre Vaquiz, 26, of El Salvador, was arrested with 5.36 ounces of cocaine on Saturday while going through a routine security inspection after arriving from Panama.

Poscasangre Vaquiz will have his preliminary hearing Oct. 5, facing charges of transporting narcotics into Virginia and possession with intent to distribute.

Officials at Dulles are no strangers to odd discoveries in passenger's luggage. In May, Customs and Border Protection discovered nearly 90 pounds of sheep meat in another man's luggage. Other finds include dried hedgehog, elephant tails, and giant African snails.

They've also seen heroin legwarmers, and cocaine has appeared in stuffed chicken, powdered soup mix, statues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and a woman's bra.