ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Police say a random bag check at Orlando International Airport led to one of the largest drug busts in the department’s history.
On Friday, Jan. 22, police say 46-year-old Eli Brown was stopped by a TSA agent during a layover for a random bag check.
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Police say the agent found several clear bags in Brown’s backpack with a crystal-like substance wrapped in clothing.
DRUGS SEIZED: Thanks to our officers' close partnership with @TSA, this 22lb. meth stash was found in a passenger's backpack during his layover. It's one of the largest amounts of drugs anyone's recently tried to carry in person; worth $500k. We arrested the passenger. pic.twitter.com/X3oHe2u60O
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) February 2, 2021
In all, police say they found 22 vacuum-sealed bags of what amounted to 22 pounds of crystal methamphetamine valued at more than $500,000.
Police also found $900 in cash.
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Brown told police he’d traveled to Orlando from the Los Angeles International Airport and was on his way to Louisville, KY.
He was charged with trafficking more than 200 grams of meth and is being held in the Orange County jail on $500,000 bond.
Cox Media Group