Woman Lands At JFK With Cocaine Worth $450K In Wheelchair Wheels: Feds

QUEENS – A woman with a wheelchair loaded with cocaine in its wheels was busted at John F. Kennedy Airport this month, federal officials said Monday.

Emelinda Paulino De Rivas, who arrived at the Queens international airport from the Dominican Republic on Nov. 10, was arrested on drug smuggling charges after customs seized 28 pounds of cocaine, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.

Customs agents nabbed De Rivas after they noticed the wheels on her wheelchair didn't turn and they ran it through an X-ray the device, officials said.

There were about 75,000 doses of cocaine worth about $450,000 in the wheels, customs officials said.

De Rivas will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the U.S. Eastern District Court of New York.