Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents discovered $20,000 worth of marijuana packed into a traveler’s suitcase at the Philadelphia airport.
The agents discovered that a lady who had been traveling from the Philadelphia International Airport to London had packed 20 vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana in her luggage, worth $20,000, according to CBS News.
“Travelers who gamble by attempting to smuggle bulk marijuana through our ports of entry will find that Customs and Border Protection officers are hard to bet against,” CBP’s Acting Area Port Director for the area of Philadelphia, Rene Ortega, told the outlet.
Philadelphia @CBP intercepted a suitcase full of marijuana destined to London, where street prices are high, and a French woman is reminded that reefer remains illegal under US federal law. This is #CBP's third recent bulk bud bust in Philly baggage. Read https://t.co/z43L4AfN3b pic.twitter.com/rMBP3d3HmP
— CBP Mid-Atlantic (@CBPMidAtlantic) July 26, 2023
CBP agents intercepted the marijuana after one of the CBP’s detector dogs notified them about the passenger’s luggage, according to the outlet.
After locating the French passenger and examining the luggage, CBP officers took the marijuana and allowed the woman to continue on her journey.
Though the woman did not receive any criminal charges, Ortega warned “smugglers should be aware that they may face severe consequences” if they try to smuggle large amounts of marijuana through ports of entry in the United States.
“Marijuana smuggling remains illegal and CBP will continue to seize it when we encounter it,” Ortega said.
In a post on Twitter, the CBP explained that the “street prices” were higher in London than in the U.S. and that the woman was given a reminder that marijuana is still “illegal under US federal law.”