If you've ever eaten an entire package of Oreos and thought, "Yeah I could swallow 3 pounds of heroin and smuggle it through JFK to take care of these student loans, no problem," you should know that the airport has made it even easier for Customs agents to nab the contents of your bowels as evidence. The Daily News visited the "Drug Loo" at JFK, which "separates the waste from what are called 'pellets' or 'balloons,' small latex packets of heroin, cocaine or other drugs." What did authorities do before Science invented this robot toilet? It involved "officers sifting through used bed pans." No thanks, we'll stick to staring at ladyparts in the security line.
The toilet was a necessity, given that "more internal couriers," or "swallowers," are banished to the Drug Loo "than at all of the US ports monitored by Customs combined." It's difficult to pin down a specific demographic for this type of drug smuggler, but they're either "lured by money or recruited by force," and after a positive x-ray confirms the suspicions of Customs, they're sent to the Drug Loo. But that doesn't mean that there's always drugs in their intestines: so far in 2011, "officers have referred 47 suspects to the drug loo, and 34 had something to hide…a success rate of 72%—up from 62% last year." Do the innocent people who were forced to crap into a robot get frequent flyer miles or Cinnabon for life?
