Pa. pepper packer put into prison

His chili peppers had an extra spice — cocaine.

A Pennsylvania man was found guilty Thursday of importing 16 kilograms of cocaine from the Dominican Republic in boxes of chili peppers.

Humberto Baez's code word for the coke smuggled through the Red Hook Terminal in Brooklyn was “ripe tomatoes.” He faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine, among other charges.

“The defendant's scheme to conceal 16 kilograms of cocaine in a shipment of chili peppers wasn't such a hot idea, and with today's verdict, he has been held responsible for his crimes,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said.

A two-week trial revealed that Baez, 50, conspired with a person running a shipping company — who turned out to be an informant for the Drug Enforcement Agency — in August 2016 about smuggling coke from the Dominican Republic in shipping containers.

After two dry runs of legitimate shipments Baez ordered the shipment of cocaine, which was concealed in the boxes of chili peppers. Authorities seized the shipment on March 1 of last year.

Photos of the bust showed federal agents tore apart dozens of boxes looking for packets of cocaine. A Dumpster was overflowing with chili peppers the feds threw away.

“Drug traffickers go to extraordinary lengths to bring poison into our country,” stated DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan. “The DEA has seen smuggling groups conceal drugs in bananas, floor tiles, exotic statues and even animals.”

Baez's attorney, Larry Herrmann, said he planned to appeal. “This was a legitimate businessman with no prior record whom the informant had tried to defraud for years.”