Authorities busted a Mexico-based U.S. citizen with 15 pounds of heroin stuffed inside her luggage after she flew into Dulles International Airport in Va. Saturday.

Nelly Davila, 39, faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison after her arrest March 9 for importing heroin into the U.S. Davila initially flew with traffickers from Hermosillo, Mexico, to Mexico City where she spent two days waiting in a hotel until the drugs were ready to ship, she told authorities, The Washington Post reported.

She was later driven to the airport where the traffickers, who Davila could not name, stuffed her luggage with the drug shipment. Someone would be watching her during the flight to Dulles, traffickers allegedly told Davila. Her instructions were to deliver the load of heroin, which carries a street value of roughly $2.1 million, to a nearby hotel where she would be paid.

A preliminary hearing for Davila was held in Alexandria’s federal courthouse Wednesday. She faces a maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars.

Large quantities of narcotics continue to infiltrate the U.S. due to relentless efforts of drug traffickers taking advantage of America’s deteriorating opioid epidemic. Traffickers often attempt to slip narcotics through American airports undetected.

Authorities arrested a man at Dulles International Airport in April 2017 after arriving on a flight with a bag of lollipops containing nearly two pounds of heroin. Oddly enough, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, after conducting an interview, concluded the unidentified man had no idea he was transporting heroin within the lollipops.

Officials did not file any charges against him over the incident though did require the man to obtain a new visa before he is allowed back into the country.

Police arrested two men attempting to use a dog crate to smuggle more than $1 million worth of heroin through JFK airport in New York City March 2017.

Officers uncovered 10 bricks of heroin weighing roughly 22 pounds in a false bottom built into a crate.

Heroin-fueled drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death for Americans under age 50, killing more than 64,000 people in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

NOW WATCH President Trump Vow to win the war against opioid addiction:

National Institute on Drug Abuse data released on Sept. 7 paints a grim outlook for the future of the drug crisis ravaging American communities.

The study predicts America’s addiction epidemic will continue to deteriorate, pushing drug deaths to an estimated 71,600 in 2017. If the estimates prove accurate, 2017 will be the second year in a row drug deaths surpass the Vietnam War’s U.S. casualties.

Follow Steve on Twitter

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

[contf] [contfnew]

The daily caller

[contfnewc] [contfnewc]

Authorities busted a Mexico-based U.S. citizen with 15 pounds of heroin stuffed inside her luggage after she flew into Dulles International Airport in Va. Saturday.

Nelly Davila, 39, faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison after her arrest March 9 for importing heroin into the U.S. Davila initially flew with traffickers from Hermosillo, Mexico, to Mexico City where she spent two days waiting in a hotel until the drugs were ready to ship, she told authorities, The Washington Post reported.

She was later driven to the airport where the traffickers, who Davila could not name, stuffed her luggage with the drug shipment. Someone would be watching her during the flight to Dulles, traffickers allegedly told Davila. Her instructions were to deliver the load of heroin, which carries a street value of roughly $2.1 million, to a nearby hotel where she would be paid.

A preliminary hearing for Davila was held in Alexandria’s federal courthouse Wednesday. She faces a maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars.

Large quantities of narcotics continue to infiltrate the U.S. due to relentless efforts of drug traffickers taking advantage of America’s deteriorating opioid epidemic. Traffickers often attempt to slip narcotics through American airports undetected.

Authorities arrested a man at Dulles International Airport in April 2017 after arriving on a flight with a bag of lollipops containing nearly two pounds of heroin. Oddly enough, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, after conducting an interview, concluded the unidentified man had no idea he was transporting heroin within the lollipops.

Officials did not file any charges against him over the incident though did require the man to obtain a new visa before he is allowed back into the country.

Police arrested two men attempting to use a dog crate to smuggle more than $1 million worth of heroin through JFK airport in New York City March 2017.

Officers uncovered 10 bricks of heroin weighing roughly 22 pounds in a false bottom built into a crate.

Heroin-fueled drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death for Americans under age 50, killing more than 64,000 people in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (more…)