Authorities: Man stashed 2 pounds of heroin in underwear

This April 1, 2015 photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows cylinders of heroin weighing approximately two pounds in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. CPB agents say they intercepted the heroin as Colombian citizen, Ivan Vidal Forero, tried to smuggle it into the country hidden in his underwear. AP

NEW YORK, United States — Customs officials at Kennedy International Airport say they discovered shrink-wrapped cylinders filled with 2 pounds (0.91 million kilograms) of heroin in the underwear of a Colombian man arriving in the United States.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers reported Tuesday that the drug was found in the passenger’s groin area when he was searched in a private room.

The suspect, Ivan Vidal Forero, faces federal narcotics smuggling charges. He was arrested last week after he got off a flight from Bogota and was handed over to Homeland Security investigators.

The two cylinders contained a powdery substance that tested positive for heroin, with an estimated street value of more than $61,000.

The case is to be prosecuted in Brooklyn federal court.