Police: Smuggler hid cocaine in clothes hangers

A would-be drug smuggler was caught late Monday night at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when he tried to sneak cocaine through in coat hangers, police say.

Julio Alejandro Almonte, 28, was arrested and charged with felony drug trafficking after U.S. Customs agents at the airport’s international terminal noticed something unusual in one of his bags.

A set of wooden hangers was lying on top of his clothes, Clayton County police spokeswoman Sonja Sanchez said.

“Any red flag would definitely stick out if you have clothes hangers in luggage without the clothes on them,” Sanchez said.

Customs did a second check of the hangers with an X-ray machine and found they had been hollowed out and filled with a white powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine, Sanchez said.

Almonte, who lives in Union City, N.J., had flown into Atlanta from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. en route to LaGuardia International Airport in New York City.

He was turned over to the Clayton Police drug task force, and is being held at the Clayton County Jail in Jonesboro.