According to a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the incident occurred this past Tuesday, March 15, when officers stationed in Philadelphia conducted a routine examination of a passenger plane arriving from the island nation.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Philadelphia routinely examine the cargo holds of aircraft that arrive from overseas locations, and most times officers find nothing unusual,” CBP said in a press release.

CBP said that officers met an American Airlines passenger flight and went to search the plane’s cargo hold after luggage was unloaded. Afterward, “CBP narcotics detector dog Dasha” alerted them of potential narcotics hidden inside one of the plane’s “access panels” when officers “discovered three bags that shouldn’t be there.”

Officers then found eight packages wrapped as bricks that contained “a white powdery substance,” hidden within two gray Puma drawstring bags. Officers conducted a test of the powdery substance with an “elemental isotope analysis tool,” which identified the substance as cocaine.

CBP said that they seized a total of 8.246 kilograms, or about 18 pounds, three ounces. The drug’s estimated street value was $580,000.

The press release stated that CBP officers have not made any arrests in connection to this incident and an investigation is ongoing.

“Narcotics interdiction remains a Customs and Border Protection priority and it is a mission that we conduct every day. Sometimes, our officers’ persistence is rewarded with the discovery of dangerous drugs or other illicit contraband,” CBP Philadelphia Port director Joseph Martella said in the press release, adding, that it “feels good to know that we were able to help our communities to be a bit safer by keeping this cocaine load out of the hands of street gangs that prey on the vulnerable.”

Newsweek was directed to the press release after reaching out to CBP for further comment about the incident.

In a statement sent to Newsweek, a spokesperson for American Airlines said: “We are working closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal law enforcement officials to support their investigation into this matter. The safety and security of our aircraft and our operation are our highest priorities at American Airlines.”

According to data from CBP, on average last year, agents seized around 4,732 pounds of illicit narcotics across the nation’s borders. CBP agents across the country have made similar seizures earlier this month when they discovered a brick of cocaine hidden within the cutout pages of a high school cookbook.

Update March 21, 2022, 3:23 p.m. ET: The story was updated to include a statement from American Airlines.