Oakland baggage handler sentenced for marijuana smuggling
A former Southwest Airlines baggage handler has been handed a prison sentence for planning to smuggle large quantities of drugs onto planes at Oakland Airport.
Kenneth Wayne Fleming Jr., of Oakland, was sentenced to 21 months in prison after a pleading guilty last year.
He had been charged with three counts of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, entering an airport area in violation of security requirements, and conspiracy to launder money.
He admitted to the charges for offenses that took place in 2013 and 2014, while a baggage handler for Southwest Airlines.
On four separate occasions he used his security credentials to bypass screening and to smuggle marijuana airside which was then passed on to outbound passengers who had already gone through TSA security, the Department of Justice said.
Fleming was one of a group of more than a dozen airport workers conspiring in a larger scheme to smuggle more than 100 kilos of marijuana into secure airport areas.
So far 10 of these airport employees have been sentenced.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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