Customs officers seize opium at LAX

Customs officials at Los Angeles International Airport confiscated 8 pounds of opium, the second seizure of the drug at the facility in little over a week, authorities said Tuesday.

The opium, valued at $52,000, was found late last week hidden in the linings of two suitcases belonging to a 28-year-old citizen arriving from Amsterdam, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The suitcases were unusually heavy, federal authorities said, and officers found five packages wrapped in carbon paper and cellophane. The man was arrested and turned over to federal officials.

On Jan. 13, an Iranian national was arrested at LAX after officers found nearly 5 pounds of opium hidden in a false bottom of a handbag, according to federal authorities.

ALSO:

Former counterterrorism instructor charged with fraud

Four Loko maker says it is saddened by two teen deaths in O.C.

-- Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Opium confiscated at LAX. Credit: Department of Homeland Security