Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police arrested a Texas woman on November 23 after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered over 71 pounds of marijuana in her baggage at Washington Dulles International Airport.
MWAA Police charged Du Li Park, 30, of The Colony, Texas, with felony possession with intent to distribute, transporting controlled substances into the Commonwealth, and narcotics conspiracy.
CBP officers were inspecting baggage being loaded onto a London-bound flight late night on November 22 when they encountered two hard-sided suitcases that contained large, vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana.
CBP officers identified the traveler through baggage tags and escorted Park and the two suitcases from the departure gate to CBP’s inspection station. There, officers extracted a total of 60 vacuum-sealed bags that contained a combined 32.52 kilograms, or 71 pounds and 11 ounces, of marijuana.
The marijuana had a street value of as much as $330,000 in the United States. Depending on potency, this load could fetch two to three times more in London.
CBP officers turned Park and the marijuana over to MWAA Police officers.
“Bulk marijuana smuggling is illegal, and Customs and Border Protection will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold smugglers accountable,” said Marc E. Calixte, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C. “Travelers who gamble with their freedom by smuggling bulk amounts of marijuana for a little extra cash may find themselves on the losing end of that proposition.”
Federal law prohibits transporting marijuana across state lines or exporting it from the United States. However, CBP has observed a continuing trend of United States-based growers and retailers shipping marijuana to Europe and Africa where high-quality weed can fetch prices many times higher than in the U.S. CBP officers usually see the marijuana being exported in smaller parcels, but occasionally officers encounter travelers carrying marijuana-stuffed suitcases.
This seizure is the latest in a trend of passengers smuggling bulk amounts of marijuana and hashish to Europe.
In April and March, MWAA Police arrested a Houston woman who attempted to smuggle 43 pounds of marijuana to the U.K., and a Maryland woman who attempted to smuggle 53 pounds of marijuana to Paris, respectively.
Additionally, in February, Virginia State Police arrested a California man after CBP discovered 88 pounds of hashish in his Brazil-bound baggage, and two Nevada men after CBP officers discovered a 73-pound marijuana load in their Paris-bound baggage.
The original announcement can be found here.
