Heroin discovered in false bottom in dog crate at Kennedy Airport

NEW YORK — Two men were arrested on drug charges after heroin was found hidden in the false bottom of a dog crate containing a Labrador retriever that had been shipped from Puerto Rico to New York.

Samuel Seabrooks, 35, of the Bronx, and Carlos Betancourt-Morales, 27, of Carmel, were arraigned on drug possession and conspiracy charges Sunday, according to the Queens district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors said Seabrook and Betancourt-Morales met up at a Bronx IHOP restaurant Friday night and traveled in separate vehicles to the American Airlines Priority Parcel Services at Kennedy Airport.

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The two men had a brief conversation before Betancourt-Morales entered the cargo building and signed for a delivery receipt for the dog crate, prosecutors said. He was stopped by police as he pushed the crate on a rolling cart toward the building’s exit.

After obtaining a search warrant, authorities recovered 10 plastic wrapped packages containing more than 22 pounds of heroin with a street value of more than $1 million. The packages were stamped with the Nike swoosh logo and a five-pointed star.

The two New York men face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Information on their attorneys was not immediately available.

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“Statistics show that, unfortunately, heroin has made a comeback in New York City and its surrounding suburbs, with fatal overdoses outpacing homicides,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Animal rights activists condemned the use of a “helpless canine as a drug mule,” said Jean Shafiroff of the American Humane Society. She called for better animal control at New York City airports.