A Glendale woman will not be flying high after an arrest at San Francisco International Airport, as she allegedly attempted to board an international flight with 151 pounds of cannabis crammed into her luggage.
Recreational-use cannabis has been legal in California for more than six years now, but there is still a huge illegal marijuana racket across the state. And the underground industry has adjusted to legalization, often shipping and smuggling the weed to other states where cannabis is not legal, because it can fetch a much higher price there. Sometimes people even try to smuggle it on international flights to other countries.
The San Mateo Daily Journal had the news this weekend that a woman was arrested for trying to bring 151 pounds of cannabis onto a flight out of SFO to Frankfurt, Germany. The arrest reportedly happened on Tuesday, May 6.
And the Daily Journal notes that the accused defendant, 34-year-old Diane Bahlawan of Glendale, had “131 separately vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana” that “were allegedly found in the four roller bags she had checked for the flight.”
Does she not know that sometimes SFO baggage handlers steal the marijuna people are trying to smuggle? Because yes that has actually happened.
The SF Chronicle picks up the story today with additional info that security flagged Bahlawan’s luggage because it seemed curiously heavy. Once that baggage was searched, Bahlawan was arrested, with her boarding pass, smartphone, and $960 in cash on her seized.
Bahlawan has been charged with unlawful transport of marijuana and burglary. She’s posted bail, and will appear in court again on June 2.
Image: close-up dried cannabis flowers (Getty Images)
