Smugglers Try Hiding 590 Kilograms Of Meth Inside Penis-Shaped Candles

“It’s kind of a cross between ‘Breaking Bad’ and a ‘Sex and the City’ case.”
Five people were arrested Wednesday after meth was found inside penis-shaped candles.
Five people were arrested Wednesday after meth was found inside penis-shaped candles.
Drug Enforcement Administration

This drug bust definitely aroused attention.

Five people were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of trying to smuggle methamphetamine into New York City via penis-shaped candles, according to the New York Post.

Authorities said the suspects were caught storing 1,300 pounds of drug-stuffed candles in a Paterson, New Jersey, warehouse.

The arrests stemmed from a joint operation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security and the New York Police Department.

Five people were arrested Wednesday after meth was found inside penis-shaped candles.
Five people were arrested Wednesday after meth was found inside penis-shaped candles.
Drug Enforcement Administration

“It’s kind of a cross between ‘Breaking Bad’ and a ‘Sex and the City’ case,” one law enforcement source told the New York Daily News.

A man and woman from California were arrested, along with three Mexican males who are in the U.S. illegally. All five are believed to be members of a Mexican drug cartel.

Law enforcement officials began investigating the alleged drug ring earlier this month after finding out that a man named Gustin Zamora-Vega was looking for a place large enough to “store and convert a large quantity of methamphetamine into crystal form,” according to Gothamist.

Officials said that Zamora-Vega turned up his nose at the first choice ― an apartment in Yonkers, New York ― because he thought the ventilation wasn’t adequate. They said he approved of the Paterson warehouse and called undercover officers Wednesday to let them know a huge shipment of meth stuffed inside wax candles had arrived on Long Island.

An undercover agent said he met Zamora-Vega at a New Jersey hotel, where he said he saw the methed-up candles.

The agent then traveled to the warehouse with Zamora-Vega and the four other suspects: Cindy Carrillo, Orlando Alcantara, Santos Minajrez and Jose Luis Gonzalez-Solis.

The defendants allegedly told the undercover officer they needed three days to convert the candles to crystal meth, according to a press release.

“DEA has seen drugs smuggled in numerous ways: concealed in puppies, lollipops, furniture and produce,” James Hunt, special agent-in-charge of the DEA’s New York field office, told Reuters. “But secreting a million dollars’ worth of methamphetamine in wax candles of various shapes is shocking.”

All five suspects were arrested and each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of mixtures and substances containing methamphetamine.

They have all been charged with conspiring to distribute meth, and could face stiff sentences for the candles ― from 10 years to life, the Daily News noted.

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