Two men were arrested Thursday after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found over 70 pounds of marijuana in their checked baggage at Dulles International Airport.
According to a release from CBP, 33-year-old Kaliq Talib McCallister and 28-year-old Christian Tyler Knight, both of Las Vegas, Nevada, were arrested by Virginia State Police troopers at the airport and were charged with felony possession with intent to distribute, transportation and narcotics conspiracy.
CBP officers at Dulles found “large vacuum-sealed bags full of suspected marijuana in three suitcases being loaded onto a Keflavik, Iceland, flight,” the release said.
Both men were traveling through Iceland to Paris, France, where officers said high-quality weed can be sold for several times higher than in the U.S.
“Marijuana remains illegal federally, and travelers who smuggle bulk amounts of marijuana gamble with their freedom to chase a few extra bucks,” said Marc E. Calixte, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C.
“Customs and Border Protection officers are hard to bet against, and our officers will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure smugglers are held accountable.”
CBP officers retrieved a total of 68 vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana, weighing a combined 72 pounds and 15 ounces, which they said could have a street value of as much as $350,000 in the U.S. — and even more in Paris.
CBP said that they capture 2,895 pounds of dangerous drugs on average everyday at air, land and sea ports of entry throughout the U.S.
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