Drug Smugglers Make Jesus Statue From Blow

from Reuters

U.S. customs officials have seized a statue of Jesus Christ made from plaster mixed with cocaine, the latest sophisticated attempt to smuggle drugs from Mexico. Sniffer dogs at the border crossing in Laredo, Texas, alerted officials to the smell of narcotics in the 3 kilo statue, which was in the trunk of a car being driven by a Mexican woman into the US.

U.S. border police arrested a 61-year-old Mexican man accused of offering the woman $80 to carry the statue to the bus station in downtown Laredo. The woman escaped back to Mexico. Tighter U.S. security and Mexico's deployment of thousands of soldiers along the border are pushing smugglers to try increasingly sophisticated techniques like hiding drugs in sealed beer cans.