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British authorities confiscated hundreds of pounds of cannabis smuggled from LAX to Heathrow Airport in London. | Photo courtesy of the National Crime Agency
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Nine U.S. citizens have been arrested in London for allegedly smuggling large quantities of cannabis from Los Angeles to the United Kingdom, British officials announced Tuesday.
According to the British National Crime Agency, authorities seized drugs over the past week that were packed into checked luggage and flown from Los Angeles International Airport to Heathrow Airport. The first seizure of smuggled cannabis was made on Jan. 10, followed by another on Friday, two more on Saturday, four on Sunday and one on Monday, according to the NCA.
In total, 340 kilos of cannabis were seized — nearly 750 pounds, with a value of nearly $7 million, authorities said.
“We are working to understand how these seizures are connected, however, to get this many off the same route in such a short period of time is clearly very unusual,” NCA senior investigating officer Darren Barr said in a statement. “Drugs couriers face stiff sentences so I’d urge anyone considering getting involved in such ventures to think very carefully about the consequences.”
All nine suspects were in custody on suspicion of trying to import class B drugs, according to the NCA. Their names were not released.
