Staggering drug haul found at major airport after bizarre attempt to hide evidence
More than 200 pounds of marijuana reportedly made its way onto commercial flights from Los Angeles to Orlando International Airport (MCO) this summer — before police intercepted the drugs in two separate airport busts.
The smugglers allegedly attempted to bring hundreds of pounds of bulk marijuana into Central Florida from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), according to police records recently obtained by FOX 35 Orlando.
The drugs were intercepted by undercover officers with the Orlando Police Department (OPD) and drug-sniffing K-9s, FOX 35 reported.
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Investigators said the suspects used superglue and ripped-off luggage tags to try to evade police, as well as dryer sheets to conceal the smell of marijuana.
During one bust, which occurred on May 7, officers found 57.6 pounds of marijuana packed inside 50 vacuum-sealed bags, wrapped in blankets and stuffed with dryer sheets, according to the report.
In a second bust on July 1, police found 144.4 pounds of marijuana in suitcases with locks that had been completely glued shut.
FOX 35 identified the suspects as individuals in their 20s who are now facing felony drug trafficking charges.
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Keith Jeffries, vice president of K2 Security Screening Group, told Fox News Digital that drug smuggling on commercial flights "can happen in multiple ways."
Those scenarios could include airport or airline employees assisting smugglers or traffickers using drug mules, he said — though he cautioned that it remains unclear how the drugs made it onto the flights in these cases.
Jeffries also said law enforcement may have been tipped off about certain individuals or bags by a confidential informant.
"It's unknown at this time without talking to law enforcement and getting the specifics," he said.
Jeffries, who previously served as TSA's federal security director at LAX and deputy federal security director at MCO, added that drug trafficking "can happen on any domestic route — and it does."
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He said Orlando's status as a major tourist destination, in particular, could make the city attractive to traffickers.
"The illegal perpetrators in this [situation] may think and believe that, well, the security must be lax there, which is not the case," Jeffries said.
He also noted that TSA officers do not specifically search for illegal drugs, and that suspected narcotics discovered during screening are referred to law enforcement.
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"The TSA's administrative search authority is very, very narrow and very specific," Jeffries said.
"TSA does not look for illegal narcotics," he added. "They simply say, 'We've got an unknown substance, and we need law enforcement's attention so that law enforcement can validate what it is or is not.'"
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Orlando Police Department for additional information.
While the Orlando marijuana was intercepted by local law enforcement, TSA officers have made other unusual discoveries during airport screenings in recent weeks.
Earlier in September, TSA officers at Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas discovered a pocketknife concealed inside a tube of toothpaste during routine carry-on screening.
In Tampa, TSA officers recently discovered a 4-inch, double-edged knife concealed inside a baseball bat-shaped flashlight in a passenger's carry-on bag.