53 Pounds Of Marijuana Found In MD Woman's Luggage At Dulles Airport

DULLES, VA — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Washington Dulles International Airport discovered more than 53 pounds of marijuana in a Maryland woman's checked baggage on Tuesday.

While examining luggage being loaded onto a flight leaving for Paris, France, CBP officer found two vacuum-sealed bags containing what appeared to be marijuana in two suitcases. The officers took the suitcases and the woman who checked them to the CBP inspection station, where they confirmed that the leafy substance inside 50 vacuum-sealed bags taken from the suitcases tested positive for marijuana.

Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority Police arrested 33-year-old Sydney Lewis of Bryans City, Maryland and charged her with felony possession with intent to distribute, transportation, and narcotics conspiracy charges.

“Marijuana remains illegal federally. Travelers who gamble with their freedom by smuggling bulk amounts of marijuana for a little extra cash may find themselves on the losing end of that proposition,” said Marc E. Calixte, CBP’s area port director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C. “Customs and Border Protection officers are hard to bet against, and our officers will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that drug smugglers are held accountable.”

Weighing a combined 24.19 kilograms, or 53 pounds, 5 ounces, the marijuana seized on Tuesday had an estimated street value of $250,000 in the U.S., according to CBP. Depending on its potency, the marijuana could fetch up to two or three times what it could in the U.S.

In recent months, CBP has seen an increase in travelers attempting to bring large amounts of marijuana with to Africa and Europe.

In February, CBP officers discovered 72 pounds of marijuana in the checked baggage of two men from Las Vegas who were also traveling to Paris. A few days later, a man heading to Brazil was arrested by the Virginia State Police, after CBP officers found a combined 39.87 kilograms, or 87.89 pounds, 15 ounces of hashish in his checked luggage.