Florida man arrested at CLT for what was under the bulge in his shirt, officials say

Jonathan Limehouse
·1 min read

The bulge on a traveler’s shirt caught the attention of customs officials at Charlotte’s airport, and after further inspection, they found a white, powdery substance.

The substance turned out to be 6 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of about $215,000, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said in a news release Wednesday.

Xavier E. Ramirez, 23, is charged with felony possession and trafficking of cocaine after U.S. Customs and Border Protection said its officers noticed a bulge in his shirt that turned out to be cocaine on July 17, 2021.
Xavier E. Ramirez, 23, is charged with felony possession and trafficking of cocaine after U.S. Customs and Border Protection said its officers noticed a bulge in his shirt that turned out to be cocaine on July 17, 2021.

Xavier E. Ramirez, 23, of Brandon, Florida, has been charged with felony possession and trafficking of cocaine, according to the CBP.

Ramirez arrived at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Saturday from the Dominican Republic wearing a jacket and shirt. When customs officers removed his jacket, they noticed the bulge and substance that later tested positive for cocaine, the CBP said.

“Any day that Customs and Border Protection officers can keep dangerous drugs from reaching our communities is a great day,” Barry Chastain, CBP’s area port director in Charlotte, said in a statement.

Ramirez was turned over to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police for prosecution and is in the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.

CBP seizes an average of 3,677 pounds of dangerous drugs every day across the United States last year, the federal agency said.