A Las Vegas woman has been busted for trying to smuggle 59 pounds of marijuana out of the country, authorities said.
Aleshia Anne Pinheiro, 42, is facing felony narcotics charges after Customs and Border Protection officers found nearly half a million dollars worth of marijuana in her luggage, according to a Tuesday press release from the agency.
CBP officers at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia discovered multiple vacuum-sealed packages inside two suitcases while inspecting luggage being loaded onto a flight bound for Frankfurt, Germany, on Sunday, the agency said.
Officers say they found the luggage belonged to Pinheiro through baggage tags and detained her at the departure gate.
Upon a second examination, officers found the suitcases to contain 50 vacuum-sealed packages of a green leafy substance that field-tested positive for marijuana, according to the CBP.
The marijuana had a street value of about $240,000, and, depending on the potency of the drugs, it could have been sold for two to three times more in Europe, the CBP said.
Pinheiro and the marijuana were turned over to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police officers, who arrested and charged the woman with transporting a controlled substance into the Commonwealth and possession with intent to distribute.
“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 a statement.
It is illegal under federal law to transport marijuana across state lines or export it from the country, the CBP said.
The agency also mentioned a continued trend of transnational criminal organizations trying to smuggle marijuana through passenger baggage and express air delivery to Europe.
“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,” Waugh said.
