FOOLERY: GA Man Arrested for Smuggling 8 Kilos in Rum Bottles

Vacations often end with travelers bringing home a souvenir or two. In some cases, travelers like to bring home a few bottles of cheap, duty-free alcohol. Well, in this case, one Georgia man did just that except he had much bigger plans for his liquor.

According to The Smoking Gun, Wilton Sinclair was busted by U.S. Customs officers for trying to smuggle liquid cocaine into America disguised as El Dorado Rum. U.S. federal agents determined that the two bottles of El Dorado rum contained 8.2 kilos of cocaine with a street value of approximately $310,000.

Wilton Sinclair flew last month from Guyana to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. He was traveling with two pieces of luggage and a pair of duty-free bags, each of which contained two large bottles of El Dorado rum (the “liquid gold of Guyana,” according to its manufacturer).

When Sinclair, 35, was screened at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint, agents noticed that the four bottles (seen above) contained a “thick syrup-like substance inconsistent with rum,”according to a criminal complaint.

Officers opened the 1.75-liter bottles and detected an unusual chemical odor. Subsequent tests showed that all four bottles field-tested positive for cocaine. Investigators estimated that the bottles held 8.2 kilos of cocaine.

After waiving his Miranda rights, Sinclair, a Georgia resident who is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Guyana, told agents that he was to be paid $6000 to get the four bottles into the country.

Sinclair was freed on a $75,000 bond.

WHAT WAS HE THINKING??