The drugs were intercepted by undercover officers with the Orlando Police Department (OPD) and drug-sniffing K-9s, FOX 35 reported.<\/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
![\"Travelers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/2025-american-automobile-association-projects-143267970.jpg\")
Drug smugglers were caught after flying more than 200 pounds of marijuana from Los Angeles to Orlando in two separate airport stings. Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n
In a second bust on July 1, police found 144.4 pounds of marijuana in suitcases with locks 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
Keith Jeffries, vice president of K2 Security Screening Group, told Fox News Digital that drug smuggling on commercial flights \u201ccan happen in multiple ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/mco-bizarre-attempt-hide-evidence-143267395.jpg\")
Officers found 57.6 pounds of marijuana packed into 50 vacuum-sealed bags, wrapped in blankets and stuffed with dryer sheets. Orlando Police Department via FOX 35 Orlando<\/p>\n
Those scenarios could include airport or airline employees 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
\u201cIt\u2019s unknown at this time without talking to law enforcement and getting the specifics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Jeffries, who previously served as TSA\u2019s federal security director at LAX and deputy federal security director at MCO, added that drug trafficking \u201ccan happen on any domestic route \u2014 and it does.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Orlando\u2019s status as a major tourist destination, in particular, could make the city attractive to traffickers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe illegal perpetrators in this [situation] may think and believe that, well, the security must be lax there, which is not the case,\u201d Jeffries said.<\/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
\u201cThe TSA\u2019s administrative search authority is very, very narrow and very specific,\u201d Jeffries said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTSA does not look for illegal narcotics,\u201d he added. \u201cThey simply say, \u2018We\u2019ve got an unknown substance, and we need law enforcement\u2019s attention so that law enforcement can validate what it is or is not.’\u201d<\/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 during airport screenings<\/a> in recent weeks.<\/p>\n Earlier in September, TSA officers at Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas discovered a pocketknife concealed inside a tube of toothpaste<\/a> during routine carry-on screening.<\/p>\n