US customs officials have arrested a woman allegedly trying to smuggle 13 kilograms of marijuana into the United States hidden in framed pictures of Jesus Christ.
The woman, from Juarez in Mexico, was detained after a sniffer dog detected the drugs stuffed inside the framed pictures as she attempted to cross the Mexico-US border at El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday.
Authorities said the 22-year-old woman told officials that the pictures were the only thing she had to declare when she entered the United States, before the drug sniffing dog smelled the marijuana, CNN reports.
Customs and Border Protection spokesman William Molaski said it was not the first time drug smugglers had tried to use articles of faith to "further their criminal enterprise".
"What some might find offensive or sacrilegious has unfortunately become a standard operating procedure for drug smugglers," he said.
"This would include using religious symbols, children and senior citizens in their attempts to defeat the inspection process."
The woman was turned over to El Paso police.
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