Weed-Stuffed Suitcase Found At BWI Airport With $150K Of Pot: Customs

LINTHICUM, MD — Officials said they recently seized 32 pounds of marijuana at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Authorities said the weed was worth up to $150,000 in the U.S. and double or triple that in Europe.

Customs officers said the pot was stuffed into the suitcase of a London-bound passenger connecting through Reykjavik, Iceland.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the bust happened on Feb. 25. The agency announced the news on Wednesday.

Customs officers said they found the suitcase as it was being loaded onto the plane.

Authorities said they identified the traveler with the baggage tag and found the passenger at the departure gate.

Officials said they took the traveler and the suitcase to the inspection station, where they found 30 vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana in the suitcase.

Officers have not charged the 22-year-old California woman, as the investigation is ongoing.

Customs said they've seen an increasing trend of U.S.-based growers and retailers shipping marijuana to Europe and Africa to fetch higher prices.

Authorities said they usually see the weed exported in smaller packages, but they sometimes find pot-stuffed luggage.

Customs said at nearby Washington Dulles International Airport, they seized 73 pounds of marijuana being smuggled to Paris and 88 pounds of hashish destined to Brazil.

Virginia State Police charged passengers in both cases with felony narcotics possession, officials said.

“Marijuana may be decriminalized in some states; however, bulk smuggling remains illegal federally, and Customs and Border Protection officers will continue to seize marijuana when we encounter it,” Adam Rottman, Customs director for the Area Port of Baltimore, said in the press release. “Smugglers gamble with their freedom to chase a few extra bucks. Despite this traveler not being criminally charged, CBP officers will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold smugglers accountable.”

Customs said it seizes an average of 2,895 pounds of drugs every day between the nation's air, sea and land ports.

Officers at BWI said they also seized nearly eight pounds of coca leaves from the baggage of two women arriving Feb. 19 from Panama City, Panama.

Authorities said they found the coca leaves in 30 vacuum-sealed packages.

Customs said it seized the coca leaves and released the travelers.

Coca leaves are illegal in the U.S., even for chewing and tea brewing, because they retain cocaine alkaloids. Cocaine is made from coca leaves.