A couple flying into New York's John F. Kennedy Airport from the Dominican Republican attempted to conceal $250,000 worth of heroin in a whiskey gift box and a large speaker, authorities say.

Andres Uribe Rebolledo and his girlfriend Yuly Valencia Sanchez, both Colombian citizens, landed at JFK from Punta Cana Sunday with a Glenmorangie-brand whiskey gift box and a Marshall-brand speaker, Customs and Border Protection says.

During an inspection, CBP officers found the whiskey box and speaker felt "unusually heavy," and escorted the couple to a private search room. A probe of the two items uncovered a brown substance that tested positive for heroin, authorities said.

In total, about nine pounds of heroin with an estimated street value of more than $250,000 were seized.

Rebolledo and Sanchez face narcotics smuggling charges and are being prosecutors by the city's Special Narcotics Prosecutor's Office. It wasn't immediately clear if they had attorneys.