The smugglers allegedly attempted to bring hundreds of pounds of bulk marijuana into Central Florida from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), according to police records recently obtained by FOX 35 Orlando<\/a>.<\/p>\n The drugs were intercepted by undercover officers with the Orlando Police Department (OPD) and drug-sniffing K-9s, FOX 35 reported.<\/p>\n ONE CANNABIS MISTAKE AT AIRPORT COULD BRING 10 YEARS IN PRISON AND $15,000 FINE<\/a><\/p>\n Investigators said the suspects used superglue and ripped-off luggage tags to try to evade police, as well as dryer sheets to conceal the smell of marijuana.<\/p>\n During one bust, which occurred on May 7, officers found 57.6 pounds of marijuana packed inside 50 vacuum-sealed bags, wrapped in blankets and stuffed with dryer sheets, according to the report.<\/p>\n Police in Orlando (not pictured) intercepted more than 200 pounds of marijuana, seen at right, in two separate airport busts involving flights from Los Angeles. (iStock; Orlando Police Department via FOX 35 Orlando)<\/p>\n In a second bust on July 1, police found 144.4 pounds of marijuana in suitcases with locks<\/a> that had been completely glued shut.<\/p>\n FOX 35 identified the suspects as individuals in their 20s who are now facing felony drug trafficking charges.<\/p>\n TSA OFFICER SEES ALARMING SHAPES ON X-RAY BEFORE STOLEN CIVIL WAR MYSTERY UNRAVELS<\/a><\/p>\n Keith Jeffries, vice president of K2 Security Screening Group, told Fox News Digital that drug smuggling on commercial flights “can happen in multiple ways.”<\/p>\n Investigators said the suspects used superglue and ripped-off luggage tags to try to evade police.<\/p>\n Those scenarios could include airport or airline employees<\/a> assisting smugglers or traffickers using drug mules, he said \u2014 though he cautioned that it remains unclear how the drugs made it onto the flights in these cases.<\/p>\n Jeffries also said law enforcement may have been tipped off about certain individuals or bags by a confidential informant.<\/p>\n Police records detailed two recent airport busts in which officers recovered a combined 202 pounds of marijuana in Orlando. (Orlando Police Department via FOX 35 Orlando)<\/p>\n “It’s unknown at this time without talking to law enforcement <\/a>and getting the specifics,” he said.<\/p>\n Jeffries, who previously served as TSA’s federal security director at LAX and deputy federal security director at MCO, added that drug trafficking “can happen on any domestic route \u2014 and it does.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/p>\n He said Orlando’s status as a major tourist destination,<\/a> in particular, could make the city attractive to traffickers.<\/p>\n “The illegal perpetrators in this [situation] may think and believe that, well, the security must be lax there, which is not the case,” Jeffries said.<\/p>\n Travelers are shown making their way through Orlando International Airport during the busy Labor Day holiday weekend in Orlando. (Paul Hennessy\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images)<\/p>\n He also noted that TSA officers do not specifically search for illegal drugs, and that suspected narcotics discovered during screening are referred to law enforcement.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n “The TSA’s administrative search authority is very, very narrow and very specific,” Jeffries said.<\/p>\n “TSA does not look for illegal narcotics,” he added. “They simply say, ‘We’ve got an unknown substance, and we need law enforcement’s attention so that law enforcement can validate what it is or is not.'”<\/p>\n TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ<\/a><\/p>\n Fox News Digital reached out to the Orlando Police Department for additional information.<\/p>\n While the Orlando marijuana was intercepted by local law enforcement, TSA officers have made other unusual discoveries<\/a> during airport screenings in recent weeks.<\/p>\n Travelers make their way through a TSA screening line at Orlando International Airport, pictured above. (Paul Hennessy\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images) <\/p>\n Earlier in September, TSA officers at Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas discovered a pocketknife<\/a> concealed inside a tube of toothpaste during routine carry-on screening.<\/p>\n![\"Split](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MCO-LAX-DRUG-BUST-TRAVEL-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"View](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MCO-LAX-DRUG-BUST-TRAVEL-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Travelers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/travelers-make-their-way-through-orlando-international.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"ORLANDO,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gettyimages-1241653500-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n