Customs officers were left speechless after discovering a clever drug smuggling attempt involving a gaming console — an Xbox.
According to reports from airport authorities, a 26-year-old man was detained after routine security screening revealed unusual wiring and dense compartments inside his Xbox console. When officers pried it open, they found what appeared to be several tightly packed bags of narcotics hidden behind the motherboard and cooling vents.
The suspect, whose name has not yet been released, had just arrived from Colombia and claimed the Xbox was a “gift for his cousin.” However, investigators quickly realized the console had been tampered with — screws mismatched, panels resealed, and a faint chemical odor detected.
“We’ve seen creative smuggling before, but this one was unusually sophisticated,” said a customs spokesperson. “The console was fully functional. You could actually turn it on — but beneath the circuits, it was full of cocaine.”
Authorities say the total haul weighed over 2 kilograms and carried an estimated street value of $180,000 USD.
The arrest was part of a larger operation targeting international smuggling networks that disguise drugs in everyday electronic devices. Investigators believe this method was designed to evade x-ray detection by masking the density with real hardware components.
Airport footage shows the man remaining calm throughout the inspection, even joking with officers as they examined the console — until the moment the hidden compartment was revealed.
He was immediately handcuffed and escorted away as officers carefully documented the evidence.
The case has now been handed to federal narcotics investigators, who suspect that similar tactics have been used at multiple U.S. airports over the past year.
While the story has sparked shock and amusement online, law enforcement officials warn that smuggling methods are becoming increasingly high-tech, making detection harder than ever.
“If smugglers can fit drugs into an Xbox,” one officer remarked, “they can hide them anywhere.”