Airport drug bust: Passenger caught with 59 pounds of marijuana bound for Europe, authorities say
A Las Vegas woman was caught trying to smuggle marijuana worth nearly a quarter of a million dollars through Washington Dulles International Airport earlier this week, authorities said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said they found more than 59 pounds of marijuana in the luggage of Aleshia Anne Pinheiro, 42, of Las Vegas, as she attempted to board a flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
Police arrested Pinheiro and charged her with transporting a controlled a substance into Virginia and possession with intent to distribute -- both felonies.
Authorities said they made the discovery Sunday when customs officers were checking bags going onto the Germany-bound flight. They found several sealed packages stuffed inside two hard suitcases, the CBP said in a news release.
After finding Pinheiro's name on the bags' tags, officers stopped her at the gate before she could board and took her to their inspection area for a closer look, the agency said.
Officers found 50 sealed packages in the suitcases, according to the CBP. Tests showed the packages contained marijuana — about 59 pounds in total, according to the release. While the drugs were worth around $240,000 in the U.S., they could have sold for up to three times more in Europe, the CBP said.
Customs officials said they're seeing more cases of criminal groups trying to send marijuana to Europe, where they can make big money selling it.
Even though some U.S. states have made marijuana legal, possessing and transporting marijuana between states or out of the country remains illegal under federal law.
"Anyone considering making a quick buck by carrying bulk marijuana loads for drug trafficking organizations should realize that the consequences you face can be severe when Customs and Border Protection officers catch you," Christine Waugh, area port director for CBP's Area Port of Washington, D.C., said in the press release. "CBP will continue to seize these marijuana loads to deprive transnational criminal organizations of illicit revenue, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold drug mules accountable."
Last year, U.S. Customs officers seized an average of 1,571 pounds of illegal drugs daily at airports, seaports and border crossings across the country, according to the CBP.
