United Airlines Employees Accused of Stealing Marijuana Out of Passengers' Check Baggage in Years-Long SchemeThe United States Justice Department believes the scheme dates back to 2020.

ByEmily Rella

Getty Images
美国联合航空公司控股公司行李手推车the check-in counter at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California.

Something smells suspicious about this one.

Two United Airlines bag handlers who worked at San Francisco International Airport are beingaccused of runninga year-long scheme to steal marijuana from passengers' baggage, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Two men were charged with "conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance" after other employees who were approached to join the scheme became informants for the government, helping the feds to bust the ring.

Joel Lamont Dunn (who was coined as the head organizer of the ring) and Adrian Webb allegedly brought in up to three other airport employees to help steal marijuana starting in 2020 and put the drugs in multiple "15-20 gallon trash bags" before transferring the bags to their personal vehicles.

According to the unnamed informant, Dunn offered up to $2,000 per shift when the employees helped with the scheme, sometimes totaling $10,000 a week.

The men were caught after video camera footage showed the pair, and their accomplices, moving trash bags out of the airport. The accomplices were approached by police in October 2022 and were caught with 30 pounds of marijuana in vacuum-sealed bags.

United Airlines did not immediately respond toEntrepreneur's request for comment.

It'snoted thatmarijuana is legal in the State of California but that it is still against federal law to fly with marijuana across state lines.

A trial date has not yet been set for the two men.

Wavy Line
Emily Rella

Entrepreneur Staff

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

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