Man ‘tried smuggling 32kg of meth-soaked clothing – including a cow onesie’
A 31-year-old man was arrested at Los Angeles airport after security found two suitcases full of clothes caked in 32kg of methamphetamine- including a cow pajama onesie.
Authorities say Raj Matharu, of Northridge, California, checked two bags through airport security ahead of a November 6 flight to Sydney.
But screening officers noticed an anomaly with the pink and gray suitcases and flagged them for further inspection.
After opening the luggage, US Customs and Border Protection officers found ‘white or light-colored clothing items dried stiff and covered in a white residue.’
The residue, which was found on items including socks, boxers, tank tops, sweatpants, jeans, hoodies, underwear and a pair of cow onesie pajamas, later tested positive for methamphetamine.
Authorities said the total weight of the methamphetamine-caked clothing eventually came to around 71.5 pounds (32.4 kilograms). An additional kilogram of methamphetamine was later extracted from the suitcase itself.
It is thought the clothing was likely ‘washed’ in white methamphetamine and left to dry, according to a federal affidavit.
Matharu was apprehended by authorities as he was about to board his flight to Australia, and was arrested after admitting the suitcases were his. According to prosecutors, he paid $100 from a private credit card to check in a second bag.
Matharu was taken into custody November 7 and charged with one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. He was later released on bail after a relative paid a $10,000 bond.
He is scheduled to appear in court on December 2 where he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, and up to life behind bars if convicted.
‘Drug dealers are continually inventing creative ways of smuggling dangerous narcotics in pursuit of illicit profit — as alleged in the facts of this case,’ US Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement.
Although prosecutors failed to mention it in their indictment, this is not the first time the soaking tactic has been used recently. On November 2, less than a week before Matharu was arrested, officers at LAX apprehended a British student named Myah Saakwa-Mante who was found with 13 white T-shirts also caked in methamphetamine in her suitcase.
Saakwa-Mante claimed to have bought the items from a local supermarket and produced receipts to prove it, claiming to ‘have no knowledge’ they contained methamphetamine.
The student’s final destination was also Australia, although was travelling to Brisbane rather than Sydney.
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