Four men were arrested last week after they landed at an Atlanta airport days before the Super Bowl with an astonishing 224 pounds of marijuana.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chad Ellis, 23, Jemonta Kilgore, 24, Labrinsan Culpepper, 25, and Rakeem Bland, 24, flew from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on February 1.
Police received a tip that several drug traffickers would attempt to smuggle the marijuana through the airport, and they were on high alert. Officers found the eight bags checked by the suspects and waited for them as they came to claim the luggage.
The men consented to an inspection of their bags and a police dog soon sniffed out the illicit substance. Atlanta Police spokesperson Sgt. John Chafee said the bust was one of the largest in the history of the airport.
224 pounds of marijuana, thousands of dollars recovered in drug bust at Atlanta airport https://t.co/eed1j5X8aa pic.twitter.com/Zj1Csxtc69
— 11Alive News (@11AliveNews) February 7, 2019
JUST IN: Photos of suitcases seized at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. In all, the bags were filled with 224 pounds of marijuana. 4 people have been arrested. https://t.co/a729SAOFGD pic.twitter.com/kFGxrTLHHD
— AJC (@ajc) February 7, 2019
224 pounds of pot confiscated at Atlanta’s airport https://t.co/URyRzpVZMB pic.twitter.com/Zy0CvHWlQv
— FOX 7 Austin (@fox7austin) February 7, 2019
Police also confiscated around $8,000 in cash. While the investigation continues, the suspects are being held in the nearby Clayton County Jail without bond.
Smuggling marijuana is an all-too-common occurrence, with three people being arrested for transporting 150 pounds of the drug through a Boston airport in December and a man was caught trying to smuggle 60 pounds of weed through a Nashville airport.
In 2017, a man was charged with smuggling over 880 pounds of weed on flights from San Francisco to Charlotte.
