A couple caught with meth in their suitcases at LAX said they thought it was mushroom powder
And a quick rundown of other drug trafficking and border-related federal court cases from the last month, spotted on Courtlistener
The latest five cases that have been added to my database:
1) Taiwanese couple allegedly thought they were transporting mushroom powder, not meth
Charges filed: Sept. 28, 2024
Location: LAX
Narrative: Shortly before they were supposed to take off for Australia, a couple from Taiwan was flagged at LAX because of irregularities in their bags, according to a federal criminal complaint. In their suitcases they had boxes labeled “organic wild blueberry powder” and “American ginseng powder,” which actually contained a little more than 17 kilos of meth. In a post-arrest interview, one of them said he had agreed to take the boxes to Australia in exchange for 100,000 Taiwanese dollars (a little more than $3,100 USD), but he thought it was only mushroom powder.
2) Sending drugs through the mail
Search warrant issued: Oct. 10, 2024
Location: Los Angeles
Narrative: A package sent from New Jersey to Los Angeles was flagged by an LAPD drug detection dog named Sally. According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, it also had some characteristics of suspected drug shipments, such as:
The parcel is contained in a box, flat cardboard mailer, or Tyvek envelope
The parcel bears a handwritten label, whether USPS Express Mail or Priority Mail
The handwritten label on the parcel does not contain a business account number
All the seams of the parcel are taped or glued shut
There is no return address
The listed sender address is a long distance or in a different state from the place where the parcel was actually placed in the mail
The parcel emits a particular odor of a cleaning agent or adhesive or spray foam that can be detected by a human
Multiple parcels are mailed by the same individual, on the same day, from different locations.
On that note …
3) A drug shipment to Santa Ana, California
Search warrant issued: Oct. 15, 2024
Location: Orange County
Narrative: Narcotic detection dog Kash, who works for police in El Monte, California, alerted police to a package that “is believed to contain controlled substances or the proceeds from the trafficking of controlled substances,” according to a federal search warrant.
The warrant also describes how Los Angeles is a hotspot for drugs shipped through the mail:
The greater Los Angeles area is a major source area for controlled substances. As such, controlled substances are frequently transported from the greater Los Angeles area via the United States Mail, and the proceeds from the sale of the controlled substances are frequently returned to the greater Los Angeles area via the United States Mail. These proceeds are generally in large amounts of money over $1,000.
4) Meth and heroin concealed in the vehicle
Charges filed: Oct. 10, 2024
Location: Otay Mesa, San Diego County, California
Narrative: A U.S. citizen was driving from Mexico into San Diego County at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry when a drug dog gave agents a positive alert, according to a federal search warrant. Upon Z-portal inspection, agents found 30 packages in the gas tank and right rear quarter panel with about 45 pounds of meth and 10 pounds of heroin.
In a previous post, I broke down the typical quantities of different types of drugs that smugglers are caught with. Meth tends to be the most commonly smuggled drug and heroin tends to be the least, based on my own analysis of hundreds of court documents:
5) Three arrested for smuggling a mother and her daughter from Mexico
Arrest made: Sept. 29, 2024
Location: Twentynine Palms, California
Search warrant issued: Oct. 2, 2024
Narrative: Border Patrol saw two possible migrants walking from the border fence in Calexico, California, toward Interstate 8, according to a federal search warrant. A Ford F-150 stopped to pick them up. Agents tailed the vehicle to Twentynine Palms, California, where they got out and then got into a Honda. Border Patrol stopped the Honda shortly thereafter.
The two migrants turned out to be a mother and daughter. The mother said she agreed to pay $10,000 to a smuggler in Mexicali, Mexico, upon being successfully smuggled into the U.S. Their final destination was Los Angeles.
The drivers of the two vehicles and one other person were charged with transportation of illegal aliens. Search warrants were issued for their cellphones.