Two men were nabbed for turning man’s best friend into a drug mule when they shipped more than $1 million worth of heroin stashed in a dog crate that held a live pooch, authorities announced Monday.
Samuel Seabrooks, 35, and Carlos Betancourt-Morales, 27, pretended to be shipping the Avi-Labrador mix from Puerto Rico to JFK Airport but actually hid the 10 kilos of drugs in the floor of the crate, the Queens DA’s Office said.
The two men met up last Friday night at an iHOP and drove in separate cars to the airport to pick up the dog and drugs.
After signing for the 86-pound crate at American Airlines cargo, Betancourt-Morales was stopped by cops as he wheeled the crate out.
A search warrant executed the next day found 10 packages of heroin in brick form and stamped with Nike swooshes and five-pointed stars.
Seabrooks, of the Bronx, and Betancourt-Morales, of Carmel, were charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy.
Their bail was set at $500,000 Sunday night.
They each face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
“It’s alleged that man’s best friend was used in an attempt to smuggle drugs into the city, but great police work led to the seizure of more than 10 kilograms of heroin concealed within a dog crate,” said Queens DA Richard Brown in a statement.
Lawyers for the two men couldn’t immediately be reached.