2 Suspected Drug Traffickers Arrested In Maine After Authorities Find Cocaine Disguised As A Cake

Two suspected drug traffickers may get their just desserts after authorities say they found the pair in possession of a hefty amount of cocaine disguised as a packaged cake.

John Cedeno, 25, and Chelsy Cochran, 33, are facing charges of aggravated drug trafficking after agents with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency stopped their vehicle and found two kilos of cocaine — valued at $200,000 — carefully hidden in the trunk along with $19,000 in cash, according to a statement from the department.

Maine DEA Commander Peter Arno told Oxygen.com that one kilo of pressed cocaine had been placed inside a prepared cake wrapper and then resealed to make it appear like a dessert.

Before placing it in the cake packaging, the pressed cocaine had been wrapped in plastic wrap and coffee grounds — reminiscent of chocolate swirls — had been on the outside of it.

Arno said coffee grounds are often used to try to throw dogs off the drug's scent but “obviously that didn’t work” in this case, he said.

“The dogs are trained specifically for certain drugs and they also trained to, sort of, ignore all the other scents,” Arno said.

Drug task force agents discovered the deceptive desert, along with another kilo of cocaine wrapped in clear plastic, after pulling Cochran’s vehicle over Tuesday along I-295.

The DEA had received a tip that the pair were distributing “considerable amounts of cocaine” within the central Maine area and believed they would be traveling through the state in Cochrane's Audi, authorities said.

Taskforce agents located the Audi Tuesday afternoon traveling northbound on the Maine Turnpike and stopped the duo along I-295 with the help of the Maine State Police. A police K-9 conducted a drug sniff of the car and located the drugs and cash in the trunk of the vehicle.

“Agents believe the drugs were being transported into the state for redistribution throughout Kennebec and Somerset counties,” authorities said.

Arno said the same drug task force had arrested Cedeno, also known as “Papers,” in 2015 for aggravated drug tracking after he was found in possession of 38 grams of heroin, a handgun and several thousand dollars.

“He received a four-year prison sentence and is out and apparently back at it,” Arno said.

Cedeno is now being held at the Kennebec County Jail on a $750,000 bond. Cochran is being held at the same jail on a $50,000 bond, authorities said.

While Arno said the agency has never encountered drugs hidden in cake packaging before, it's not unusual for drug traffickers to try to get creative.

“Really, it’s only limited by the imagination as to how traffickers will try to conceal the illegal drugs,” he said.