A Bermuda customs canine officer faces up to five years in a US jail after being arrested at New York's JFK airport last week on suspcion of drugs offences.

Betty Azzario was reportedly caught red handed carrying more than a kilo of cocaine by New York drug enforcement officers as she attempted to board an Island-bound jet last Tuesday.

Wrapped in Bermuda Customs tape, the one and a half kilos of genuine cocaine was hidden under a package of fake cocaine, according to a spokesperson from the US Drugs Enforcement Agency.

"It is believed the fake `coke' was used to throw off customs officers who would be searching her,'' the DEA spokesperson said.

"She also showed a note on Bermuda Customs letterhead which said that the fake cocaine was to be used in training, but the note turned out to be a sham.'' Mrs. Azzario was caught by DEA officers who were working in cooperation with Bermuda's drugs squad, who were able to tip off their US colleagues about the attempted smuggling operation.

After being arrested it is understood she cooperated with investigators, leading them to her accomplice boyfriend in New York the following day.

According to the DEA spokesman, Mrs. Azzario made a delivery of the drugs to her boyfriend in New York last Wednesday December 22, at which time he was arrested.

Both Mrs. Azzario and her boyfriend are now being held in a Manhattan detention centre awaiting court hearings.

Both were arraigned last Thursday, Mrs. Azzario for exportation of a controlled drug and her boyfriend for illicit drug conspiracy.

While the DEA spokesperson could not say when a court hearing is likely to be scheduled, he did note that prison sentences of at least five years are the norm for both offences.

Neither Bermuda Collector of Customs, Bill LeDrew nor designate for the post, Winifred Fostine DeSilva, could be reached for comment about the incident over the holidays.