Massive Drug Bust Occurs At Pittsburgh International Airport

FINDLAY TOWNSHIP, PA ? A Massachusetts woman is facing felony narcotics charges after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered more than 54 pounds of marijuana in herLondon-bound baggage at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Allegheny County police arrested Jetta Monet Corbett, 30, of Brockton. Corbett is facing multiple state charges including one felony count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance

Border Protection officers discovered over 54 pounds in the Massachusetts woman's suitcases.

While inspecting passenger baggage being loaded onto the international flight, Border protection officers discovered numerous vacuum-sealed packages inside two black, hard-sided suitcases. Corbett was identified through baggage tags and detained at the departure gate.

Authorities discovered 49 vacuum-sealed packages inside of two suitcases. The marijuana weighed a combined 54 pounds and had a street value of about $240,000. Authorities said that depending on potency, the shipment could have fetched two to three times more in Europe.

Though bulk marijuana seizures at the Pittsburgh airport are extremely rare, Border Protection officers across the country have observed a trend of transnational criminal organizations attempting to transport marijuana through passenger baggage and express air delivery to Europe and Africa where high-quality weed can generate huge profits.

Despite some states decriminalizing marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, marijuana possession and use remains illegal under federal law. Federal law also prohibits transporting marijuana across state lines or exporting it from the United States.

?Anyone considering making a quick buck by carrying bulk marijuana loads for drug trafficking organizations should realize that the consequences you face can be severe when Customs and Border Protection officers catch you,? James Hindes, the Border Patrol's acting port director for the Port of Pittsburgh, said in a statement.