Federal customs officials announced this morning that they arrested a Baltimore man returning from Ghana with more than 6 pounds of heroin hidden in the false bottom of a suitcase. The seizure was made at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport.

Here is a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection:

Customs and Border Protection officers at Baltimore-Washington International Airport arrested Baltimore resident Suleiman Zakaria on Tuesday after allegedly smuggling nearly seven pounds of heroin in a suitcase.

Zakaria, 26, had just returned from Ghana shortly after 6 p.m. when a roving CBP officer referred him for a secondary examination.  CBP officers routinely staff the passenger arrivals area and randomly select passengers for secondary examinations.

CBP officers discovered 3.08 kilograms, or six pounds, 13 ounces of heroin in hidden in a false bottom of a suitcase Zakaria allegedly possessed.  CBP officers also seized $5,980 Zakaria possessed. The heroin has a wholesale value of up to $430,000.

"This seizure significantly illustrates CBP’s multi-layered approach to combating narcotics smuggling in the international passenger environment," said Stephen Dearborn, CBP Acting Port Director for the Port of Baltimore. "Our officers frequently rely on technology to target smuggling trends and detect concealment methods, but this seizure shows that officer intuition remains one of our most potent enforcement tools."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took Zakaria into custody.