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Woman allegedly tried to fly from Logan to London with 74 pounds of marijuana
Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said the 74-pound shipment seized at Logan Saturday would have had a street value of $370,000 in the U.K.
A Michigan woman was arrested at Logan Airport Saturday after she allegedly tried to take 74 pounds of marijuana with her on a flight to London, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Nalexus Palmer, 28, of Clinton Township, Michigan, pleaded not guilty to trafficking marijuana between 50 and 100 pounds, the DA’s office said in a press release. Boston Municipal Court Judge Debra DelVecchio set Palmer’s bail at $3,000 and ordered her to surrender her passport and stay away from Logan, except for “legitimate travel.”
News from Logan Airport:
Massachusetts State Police troopers responded to Logan around 9 p.m. Saturday after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized two large suitcases from a passenger, later identified as Palmer. The bags allegedly contained Apple AirTags and multiple vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana, according to the DA’s office.
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Prosecutors said Palmer had flown from Detroit to Boston and planned to travel to London. She reportedly told investigators that a man she met four years ago in Atlanta arranged for an unknown woman to deliver the luggage earlier in the day, though she said she was not aware of the bags’ contents.
According to the DA’s office, Palmer also told investigators she didn’t know the man’s name, but that he paid her through Zelle and Cash App and was going to give her money for a car when she arrived in London.
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Palmer’s attorney, Francisco Napolitano, said in a brief phone interview that the Michigan woman was staying with friends in Haverhill and was due to travel overseas when the man reached out to her and asked if she’d be willing to take some packages with her.
“She had no reason to suspect anything nefarious,” Napolitano said, adding, “From our perspective, … there was no reason for her to believe she was going to transport any contraband.”
He said his client has not yet posted bail, but her family is working to raise the funds.
“She was very distraught, as you might imagine,” Napolitano said. “She was kind of bewildered.”
While marijuana possession is legal in Michigan and Massachusetts, cannabis remains illegal in the United Kingdom. By Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s estimate, the 74-pound shipment would have had a street value of $370,000 in the U.K.
“While laws regarding simple possession in Michigan, Massachusetts and many other states may have changed, laws regarding marijuana trafficking haven’t, and anyone thinking they can move large quantities across state or international lines is taking a major risk,” Hayden said in a statement. “This defendant discovered that very quickly over the weekend.”
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Palmer is due back in court for a probable cause hearing on May 24.
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