Traveller suspected of ingesting cocaine pellets caught at Edmonton airport

An Edmontontraveller accused of ingesting dozens of cocaine pellets in an attempt to smuggle them into the country is due in court Thursday.

The suspect was intercepted by border guards at the Edmonton International Airport on April 30th, returning to Canada from an unnamed destination.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says the traveller had ingested82 pellets of cocaine with a total weight of 978.6 grams.

After confirming the traveller had ingested drugs, the person was transported to hospital where the drugs were safely expelled under medical supervision, and then turned over to the RCMP.

"Ingesting narcotics to evade detection is an extremely dangerous practice,"said KimScoville, Regional Director withCBSA, in a news release.

"Regardless of how well the pellets are wrapped, it is a life threatening situation."

The suspect will appear in Leduc Provincial Court on May 5th.

So far this year CBSA officers have made 128 drug-related seizures in Alberta.

On January 31, officers discovered 14.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in the rocker panels of an SUV driven by a 40-year-old Calgary woman.

In March, officers at the Edmonton International Airport seized over 2.2 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the linings of a backpack and computer bag belonging to a 45-year-old man.