U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at St. Louis' Lambert International Airport apprehended a 31-year-old woman on May 14 for attempting to travel to Germany with more than 40 pounds of marijuana. The arrest followed a notification from CBP officers in Newark, who identified the passenger as a person of interest. The U.S. citizen was preparing to depart St. Louis for Frankfurt, Germany.
Before her luggage could be loaded onto the aircraft, CBP officers conducted an inspection of her two suitcases and discovered 38 bundles of marijuana weighing a total of 43-and-a-half pounds. Following this discovery, the individual and the marijuana were handed over to the St. Louis Airport Police for further action.
"The sharing of information between our officers was instrumental in stopping this traveler from transporting 43 pounds of marijuana internationally," stated LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director of Field Operations, Chicago Field Office. "I commend the CBP officers in Newark and at Lambert for enforcing U.S. federal law, which prohibits the illegal distribution of marijuana."
CBP's border security mission is executed by officers from the Office of Field Operations across 328 ports of entry nationwide. More information about how CBP's Office of Field Operations secures national borders can be found on their website.
The agency encourages following them on Twitter @CBPChicago and @DFOChicago or visiting their YouTube channel to learn more about their operations.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is recognized as America's frontline defense and stands as the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. Comprising over 65,000 personnel, CBP is committed to protecting America across land, air, and sea while facilitating safe travel and trade to bolster economic prosperity through innovation and collaboration.
