9 U.S. citizens arrested for smuggling weed out of LAX
London authorities arrested nine United States citizens for allegedly smuggling more than 700 pounds of cannabis out of Los Angeles International Airport.
According to the British National Crime Agency, airport workers seized the drugs spanning from Jan. 10 to Jan. 16 from travelers who had packed the marijuana into their luggage on flights from LAX to Heathrow Airport.
One seizure was made on Jan. 10, another was made the following day, six were made over the weekend and the final seizure was made on Monday.
In all, around 750 pounds - or 340 kilos - of cannabis were seized. The estimated value of the product is around $7 million.
"We are working to understand how these seizures are connected, however, to get this many off the same route in such a short period of time is clearly very unusual," said NCA Senior investigating Officer Darren Barr. "Drugs couriers face stiff sentences, so I'd urge anyone considering getting involved in such ventures to think very carefully about the consequences."
The suspects remained unnamed at the time of the report due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.
All remain in custody.