California Man Allegedly Attempts to Smuggle Meth Through LAX By Caking It On a Cow Pajama Onesie and Other Clothes
Cow pajamas were among the clothing items a Northridge, Calif. man used to attempt to smuggle meth out of LAX, according to Justice Department allegations.
Matharu was busted at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) with two suitcases full of over a dozen pieces of clothing that were allegedly caked in methamphetamine.
Matharu reportedly invoked his right to counsel in the airport and was taken into custody on the morning of Nov. 7, according to the affidavit. Matharu’s arraignment was scheduled for Dec. 2, but he was free on a $10,000 bond until then.
Matharu Was Headed to Sidney, Australia
On Nov. 6, Matharu reportedly arrived at the LAX airport to board United Airlines Flight 839, set to depart at 10:40 pm from LAX to Sydney, Australia, according to an affidavit written by HSI Special Agent Megan Palmer. Matharu allegedly checked one pink hard-case luggage bag and one grey hard-case luggage bag, reportedly using a credit card to pay $100 extra for the second checked bag.
While the two suitcases were in United Airlines’ custody, screening officers ran the bags through an X-ray machine, according to the affidavit. The X-rays showed an abnormality, so the officers pulled the luggage for a closer inspection.
Cow-Themed Pajama Onesie
The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers opened the two suitcases and discovered light-colored articles of clothing that had been dried stiff and covered with a white substance of a powdery nature, the affidavit details. One of the clothing items was a cow-themed pajama onesie.
The CBP officers also found loose white powder residue in the suitcases and sprinkled visibly on the clothes, according to the affidavit. The stiffened and caked clothes that were predominantly white or light-colored were also mixed with regular, untainted clothing of various colors.
CBP officers confronted Matharu at the gate where he was waiting to board the plane and asked him about the two pieces of luggage, according to the affidavit. Matharu allegedly confirmed that the pink and grey hard-case luggage bags were his. The bags also had tags on the luggage with his name printed on the labels.
CBP officers did a field test on the substance caked on the clothes and received a positive result for methamphetamine, according to the affidavit. When the officers weighed the clothes caked with the substance, they weighed around 32.41 kilograms or 71.3 pounds.
Similar Case in New York
Smuggling drugs through an airport is not common, but neither is smuggling drug money, as The Daily Muck covered in a story on Sept. 12 about four flight attendants, Sarah Valerio Pujols, 42, from the Bronx, N.Y.; Charlie Hernandez, 42, from West New York, N.J.; Emmanuel Torres, 35, from Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Jarol Fabio, from New York City, who pleaded guilty to laundering drug money from New York to the Dominican Republic.
Although the flight attendants used their “Known Crewmember” status to bypass strict security checks, their scheme was still discovered during a luggage check, according to The Daily Muck’s report.
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