November 1, 2013 - 12:03 AMT
Cocaine-stuffed pumpkins found at Canadian airport, woman arrested

A Montreal-area woman faces two drug-related charges after border officials stumbled upon a different kind of Halloween surprise inside three pumpkins, CBC News reported.

Mercedes Jerez Farias, 26, appeared before a judge in Montreal Thursday, Oct 31, and was charged with importing drugs and drug possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Custom agents found three pumpkins in her luggage at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport, stuffed with approximately two kilograms of what is believed to be cocaine.

Scanning equipment had detected masses inside the pumpkins, which turned out to be bags filled with a chalky substance.

Officials were not able to say whether Jerez Farias is a Canadian citizen, but court documents show the accused lives in Delson on Montreal's South Shore.

If found guilty, Jerez Farias faces a minimum of two years in prison. She is expected to appear for a bail hearing Friday morning.

The RCMP have taken over the investigation.

The CBSA says that since the beginning of 2013, there have been 173 drug seizures at Montreal's airport.Ten of those involved cocaine, with roughly 44 kilos seized.