In 2020, an individual attempted to smuggle over 6 1/2 pounds of fentanyl through Los Angeles International Airport and has now been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison.
According to a news release by the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday, Jermaine Eggleston, a 35-year-old resident of Chicago, was found guilty in April 2022 of distributing fentanyl, after security officers at LAX discovered the illegal drugs in his checked duffle bag. Eggleston has been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for his crime.
On the 14th of September 2020, his luggage was flagged by an X-ray machine due to potential explosive materials present. As a result, a Transportation Security Administration officer conducted a thorough search of the bag.
According to the release, as the officer opened the bag, he discovered a computer keyboard box that contained three parcels wrapped in tape, plastic wrap, and carbon paper. The bag was checked under Eggleston’s name for a flight from Los Angeles to New Orleans. After further testing, it was determined that the parcels contained a total of 2,986 grams of fentanyl.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the quantity of the substance seized, which was slightly under 3 kilograms, is equivalent to 6.58 pounds and holds a wholesale value exceeding $250,000.
According to the prosecutor’s sentencing memorandum, Eggleston attempted to bring almost three kilograms of fentanyl powder in his checked luggage onto a plane. If he had succeeded, this would have endangered the lives of the passengers, crew, and countless individuals who might have used the fentanyl downstream.
In October 2020, Eggleston was arrested at the airport and later released on pretrial. However, five months down the line, he was again arrested in Chicago for alleged firearm possession.
For the past two and a half years, he has been in federal custody.
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