Legal troubles loom for two United Airlines employees implicated in pilfering marijuana from the checked baggage of travelers.
As detailed in several news sources, the employees, Joel Lamont Dunn and Adrian Webb, were employed as ramp cargo agents for United at the San Francisco International Airport.
The duo reportedly orchestrated a plot where fellow workers were generously compensated for illicitly extracting the drug from passengers’ luggage.
The Los Angeles Times, referencing a criminal indictment from the FBI, has stated that Dunn and Webb “were indicted on June 9 for conspiracy to disseminate a controlled substance.”
“Beginning in 2020, Dunn and Webb managed an operation in which employees were paid a cash sum of $2,000 or more per shift—which could amount to $10,000 a week—to extract considerable amounts of marijuana from checked baggage,” the Times noted.
The San Francisco Standard, quoting the case’s prosecutors, revealed that an airline worker, solicited by Dunn to participate in the plot, later became a confidential informant for law enforcement agencies.
Dunn and Webb’s scheme began to disintegrate in June of 2021, when they were “victims of an armed robbery in the employee parking area near their cars,” as reported by the San Francisco Standard.
Although Dunn and Webb reported the robbery incident to the police, they conveniently omitted the part about the stolen marijuana.
The Los Angeles Times disclosure reads: “Video evidence collected prior to and after the robbery revealed the men and other employees transporting 15- to 20-gallon black garbage bags out of the airport’s secure area. The video also captured Webb, holding a black garbage bag, traversing the parking structure, en route to his car. Later footage from October 2022 depicted similar behavior by the men, transporting bags with unknown contents from the secure zone to their personal vehicles. Upon contact with law enforcement, one man initially denied ownership of the items, but later retracted his statement. A search warrant led to the discovery of a black garbage bag and two boxes filled with numerous vacuum-sealed bags containing about 30 pounds of marijuana, as confirmed by lab testing, the FBI disclosed. At least five individuals were part of this operation as per the complaint, but only Dunn and Webb have been charged so far.”
With more states legalizing the recreational use of cannabis, regulations regarding traveling with the substance have also softened. The Transportation Security Administration asserts that its “screening processes are security-centered and intended to identify potential aviation and passenger threats,” noting that while their officers “do not actively seek marijuana or other illegal substances, any discovered illegal substance during security screening prompts a referral to a law enforcement officer.”
As airports operate under local jurisdiction, officers generally comply with local regulations. In simpler terms: if marijuana is legal, carrying it for air travel is typically permissible. However, travelers should acquaint themselves with the laws at their destination. Some airports, such as Chicago’s O’Hare International, have placed “amnesty boxes” for travelers to discard their marijuana before boarding.
“We are not advocating for people to carry cannabis through the airports at all,” stated Chicago Police Department spokesperson Maggie Huynh in 2020, following the installation of the boxes at O’Hare. “But if for any reason it’s in your possession, we have provided those amnesty boxes so that you can dispose of it before boarding the plane.”
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