Airport officials say a 23-year-old Austin man never made it onto his international aircraft after they discovered around 75 pounds of marijuana stashed in his checked luggage at Miami International Airport on Saturday. Authorities claim the bags included dozens of vacuum-sealed bundles that tested positive for marijuana and weighed around 34.01 kg. A judge later set bond at $20,000 and required the defendant to wear a GPS monitor if he posted bond.
According to authorities, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials were conducting standard outgoing checks at MIA when they saw two checked bags associated with the visitor. Inside, officers discovered 65 vacuum-sealed containers containing a green, leafy substance that tested positive for marijuana, totaling 34.01 kilos, or approximately 74.98 pounds.
According to the arrest report, the suspect is Austin resident Harrison O’Neill Tiernan, age 23. According to NBC6 South Florida, he was arrested at the airport before boarding a flight to London and was later thrown into jail on a cannabis trafficking allegation.
According to authorities, this current arrest is only one of several significant outbound narcotics recoveries made at MIA this winter. According to a news statement from the United States Attorney’s Office, CBP officers confiscated more than 76 kilograms of hashish during outgoing airport inspections in February, resulting in criminal prosecutions.
There have also been instances in which luggage traveling across the Atlantic contained more than simply clothing. In a previous occurrence, luggage going for London apparently tested positive for dozens of pounds of marijuana, as documented in suitcases bound for London. According to the report, several recent arrests involved outbound screenings and K-9 alerts.
Tiernan was charged with cannabis trafficking and appeared before a judge, who set his bond at $20,000 and ordered GPS tracking if he is freed, according to NBC6 South Florida.
Possession or transportation of more than 25 pounds of cannabis is considered trafficking in Florida, and there are statutory minimum prison sentences and fines involved. For amounts more than that level, the Act mandates a minimum penalty of three years in jail and a $25,000 fine. F.S. 893.135
Officials have not stated if the case would ultimately be heard in state or federal court, and investigators have not provided more information on any potential chain of custody or travel accomplices.
In a comparable February case documented by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Homeland Security Investigations in Miami led the investigation, demonstrating that federal agencies sometimes take the lead when large outbound drug cargoes are confiscated at airports.
Leave a Reply