Crime & Safety
20 Pounds Of Marijuana Found In Flyer's Bag At Philly Airport: Customs
Authorities said a French woman flying to London had nearly 21 pounds of cannabis, about $20,000 worth, in her bags. She was not charged.
PHILADELPHIA — Nearly 21 pounds of cannabis was seized at the Philadelphia International Airport after a drug-detecting dog alerted authorities to the bags.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officers seized nearly 20 pounds, 1o ounces of marijuana Saturday at Philadelphia International Airport.
The weed was found in the baggage of a French woman traveling to London.
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While conducting inspections of baggage being loaded onto outbound international flights, CBP narcotics detector dog Gini alerted to one London-bound suitcase.
Officers relayed baggage tag information to others who were working at the departure gate.
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The woman was found in the gate area and was escorted, along with the suitcase, to Customs and Border Protection's inspection station.
There, officers examined the baggage and discovered 20 vacuum-sealed bags that contained a green leafy substance.
That substance field-tested positive for marijuana.
The marijuana weighed a combined 9.36 kilograms, or 20 pounds, 10 ounces.
It has a street value of about $20,000 in the United States.
The woman was not criminally charged.
Officers seized the marijuana and released the woman to continue her travel to London.
"Travelers who gamble by attempting to smuggle bulk marijuana through our ports of entry will find that Customs and Border Protection officers are hard to bet against," Rene Ortega, CBP’s Acting Area Port Director for the Area Port of Philadelphia, said. "Smugglers should be aware that they may face severe consequences. Marijuana smuggling remains illegal and CBP will continue to seize it when we encounter it."
High-quality, high-potency U.S.-farmed marijuana can fetch prices many times higher throughout other parts of the world.
According to Customs and Border Protection, the street price of this marijuana load in the United Kingdom would be about $200,000, and about $100,000 in France.
On April 24, CBP officers seized 72 pounds of marijuana in the baggage of an Ireland-bound man, and about eight pounds of marijuana in the baggage of a Bermuda-bound man on May 2.
Officers and agents seize an average of 2,895 pounds of drugs every day at our nation’s air, land, and sea ports of entry.
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