Woman arrested at Dulles Airport with $1.4 million worth of heroin in her suitcase

ALEXANDIRA, Va. (WSET) -- A U.S. citizen, who resides in Mexico, was arrested over the weekend after the U.S. Attorney's Office said she was importing heroin into the United States.

Court documents show that Nelly Davila, 39, arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport on March 9 from Mexico City carrying a suitcase with more than seven kilograms of a substance that field-tested positive for heroin.

Customs and Border Protection agents found it concealed in her suitcase as she attempted to re-enter the U.S., documents showed.

Davila had her first court appearance at 2 p.m. at the federal courthouse in Alexandria.

She's charged with importing a schedule I controlled substance and faces a maximum penalty of 40 years and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, if convicted.

Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Casey Owen Durst, Director of Customs and Border Protection’s Baltimore Field Office, and Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Williamson is prosecuting the case.