November 6, 2010 – An 18-year-old Puerto Rican man was arrested on drug smuggling charges by special agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). 

Jose Manuel Torres Perez is charged with importing smuggle 21 pounds of cocaine or more of cocaine into the United States. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison. Federal investigators said they weren't Halloween leftovers they were a way for Torres to smuggle the cocaine. 

According to the criminal complaint, Perez arrived into the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport on a Avianca Airlines flight at 2:30 PM from Bogota, Colombia. He proceeded to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enclosure and presented himself and his luggage to CBP officers for inspection and entry into the United States. 

Within the luggage claimed by Perez, there were multiple paper shopping bags containing different articles of clothing. In addition, he claimed bags containing various types of candies.