MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A crew member from Colombian airline Avianca is facing a federal charge in South Florida after authorities said he was busted smuggling gold after arriving at Miami International Airport.
According to a federal criminal complaint obtained by Local 10 News on Monday, Jhon Alexander Herrera Giraldo arrived on Avianca Flight AV06 from Bogota on Wednesday and said he had nothing to declare to customs agents.
However, it states that agents conducting a pat-down noticed that the 40-year-old, who’s been with the airline for nearly two decades, was wearing a silver-colored chain around his neck and asked him about it.
Authorities said Herrera Giraldo initially claimed the chain was platinum, but then “stated that it was gold but claimed he had owned it for years.”
They said he “later admitted that the chain was not his” and said “an individual named ‘Leandro’ had given him the chain in Colombia and instructed him to deliver it to an individual named ‘Lalo’ the next day,” saying that “that the chain had already been painted silver when ‘Leandro’ gave it to him and that he believed the chain was painted to conceal the fact that it was gold.”
Authorities said Herrera Giraldo admitted he lied about the chain at first because he was “scared” and said “he received approximately $200 to $300 for each trip on which he brought a chain” to the U.S., making three such trips over the past four months.
According to the complaint, the chain weighed in at around 240 grams and was “made of high-purity gold consistent with merchandise intended for sale or other commercial use.”
Though the complaint doesn’t state where authorities suspect the gold came from, according to Business Insider, illegal gold mining is now Colombia’s “most profitable illicit industry” and the U.S. is the country’s number-one destination for smuggled gold.
As for Herrera Giraldo, agents arrested him on a charge of smuggling goods into the United States, which can carry a 20-year prison sentence.
His federal court file did not list any upcoming hearings and he remained held in the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami as of Monday morning.
Local 10 News contacted Avianca on Monday morning seeking comment on Herrera Giraldo’s arrest.
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