• A flight attendant attempts to smuggle over 30 kilos of cocaine onto a flight from Los Angeles to New York
• The woman, who got away, was identified as a JetBlue flight attendant
• Airport officials said it was not clear how she was able to flee
A female flight attendant fled barefoot after kicking off her high-heeled shoes and left her trolley bags when she was selected for a random screening at the Los Angeles International Airport last Friday, March 18. It turned out the flight attendant was carrying more than 30 kilos of cocaine in her bags.
An article published by ABC 7 said the flight attendant arrived at the airport for a flight from Los Angeles to New York when she was stopped by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and brought her through to a second security screening in Terminal 4.
TSA officers said the woman, who appeared to be nervous, made a phone call using a language they did not recognize. When asked for her work identification, she suddenly grabbed her bags and ran.
She then dropped her bags, which were weighing her down, and kicked her high-heeled shoes off and ran the wrong way down and up an escalator. She continued to run towards Terminal 5 and got away.
The airport officials found the cocaine inside her abandoned bags. The drugs were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), who is now conducting an investigation.
Timothy Massino, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles said it was unlikely that the Friday incident was the woman’s first attempt to exploit her security clearance.
“I don’t believe anybody would trust a mule with that amount of dope the first time out. You’re talking about $ 2 million worth of cocaine. That’s pretty troubling. This is more than likely not her first time doing this,” he said.
Marshall McClain, president of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association, said the Los Angeles International Airport needs to screen not only the passengers but also airport and airline employees, who are not normally subjected to searches.
“Just like traveling passengers, airport and airline employees should undergo the same screening to help decrease the opportunities for these employees to commit crimes and to help eliminate ‘insider’ or ‘lone wolf’ criminal activity,” he said in a statement.
The woman was identified by DEA as a JetBlue flight attendant. The airline expressed its intention to cooperate with the investigation.
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