UPDATED: Fly Jamaica crew member arrested in cocaine bust

A crew member of a Fly Jamaica Airways flight is now in custody in New York after he was caught allegedly trying to smuggle cocaine into the United States, the New York Daily News has reported.

Hugh Hall, a Jamaican citizen, was held by US border patrol agents at the John F. Kennedy International Airport last Saturday, allegedly with four packages taped to his legs, each containing cocaine valued at US$160,000 or just over J$20 million. 

Hall was part of the crew for a Fly Jamaica Airlines flight that arrived from the Sangster International Airport in St James, the newspaper quoted the US Customs and Border Protection agency as saying.

Border agents reportedly ordered him into a private search room where they allegedly found cocaine with a total weight of nine pounds.

Hall was ordered held without bail when he appeared in Brooklyn Federal Court on federal drug smuggling charges on Monday.

"This seizure is another example of our officers being ever vigilant in protecting the United States from the distribution of illicit drugs," said Leon Hayward, acting Director of CBP New York Field Office.

NOTE: An earlier version of this story had identified the crew member as Hugh Hunt. That's incorrect. He is actually Hugh Hall.

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