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Man and daughter barred from US for 5 years after pills found to contain cocaine

By Deng Kajia | February 19, 2014, Wednesday | Online Edition

A MAN and his preteen daughter from Zhejiang Province have been barred from re-entering the United States for five years after they attempted to bring in 16 bottles of pills that were found to contain cocaine, the US-based Chinese language paper World Journal reported.

The man surnamed Wu, along with his 12-year-old daughter, were found to have the bottles of a licorice compound when they landed in Los Angeles. The pills, which were being brought in as a favor for a friend in Los Angeles, were confiscated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Wu and his daughter were kept in a holding room for over 10 hours with their hands cuffed at Los Angeles International Airport, the report said.

They were sent back to China and barred from entering the country again for five years after a test showed the pills contain illegal cocaine.

Wu’s friend, surnamed Yu, said the medicine was a long-term prescription for her daughter and she customarily asked friends to bring the medicine from China.

It was the first time that the pills were found to be illegal, so she said she thought the penalty was harsh, the report said. She is seeking help to reduce their punishment.

However, those who bring medicine containing illegal drugs into the US face jail terms in severe cases, so the five-year entry ban is a lighter penalty, lawyer Deng Hong said.

It is common for Chinese people to take medicines into the US, and it is commonly believed that the worst that could happen would be confiscation, the report said.

But Customs officials advise travelers bringing in medicines to declare them and not to simply trust their luck that they won’t be noticed.

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