Woman bound for England caught with 43 pounds of pot at Dulles International
DULLES, Va. - A Texas woman who was bound for England may have overpacked for her trip, shoving nearly 43 pounds of marijuana into her luggage.
Customs and Border Protection seized the drugs at Washington Dulles International Airport on Thursday, April 18.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police charged the passenger, 26-year-old Lakedra Hamilton of Houston, with felony possession with intent to distribute.
CBP agents were inspecting the luggage being loaded onto a flight for Ireland when they found the marijuana wrapped in large, vacuum-sealed bags and concealed beneath clothing in Hamilton’s two hard-sided suitcases.
Hamilton was set to travel from Ireland to her final destination of Manchester, England.
According to CBP, there has been a growing trend of marijuana being smuggled out of the U.S. in bulk to Europe and Africa where it can be sold at much higher prices.
The drugs had an estimated street value of as much as $200,000, depending on potency, but CBP says it could go for two to three times more in London.
On March 14, MWAA Police arrested a Maryland woman after CBP officers discovered 53 pounds of marijuana that she intended to smuggle to Paris.
And on February 28, Virginia State Police arrested a California man bound for Brazil after CBP discovered 88 pounds of hashish in his baggage.
Virginia State troopers also arrested two Nevada men after CBP officers discovered a 73-pound marijuana load in their Paris-bound baggage.
"We hope that this seizure and arrest serves as a warning to other would-be drug couriers that Customs and Border Protection will seize their illicit product and our partners will hold smugglers accountable through aggressive prosecutions," said Marc E. Calixte, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C. "Travelers should remember that marijuana remains illegal federally, and smugglers may face severe consequences when CBP catches them."
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