ORLANDO, Fla. – A passenger at Orlando International Airport who attempted to board a plane with 22 pounds of crystal meth and $900 in cash claimed the drugs weren’t his, according to the Orlando Police Department.
Police said a Transportation Security Administration agent spotted passenger Eli Brown at gate 35 around 8 a.m. on Jan. 22 and stopped him for a random bag check before he could board his flight to Louisville, Kentucky.
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Inside the backpack, police said the agent found 22 vacuum-sealed bags wrapped in white clothing that each contained a pound of meth and $900 in cash.
Brown, 46, claimed the bag wasn’t his and that he fell asleep at the gate after flying in from Los Angeles and when he woke up, the bag was next to him and he assumed it was his since he arrived with an identical bag, according to the affidavit.
He was arrested on a charge of trafficking in methamphetamine over 200 grams.