A California man was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after he allegedly tried to check two suitcases filled with clothing soaked in methamphetamine, including a cow pajama onesie, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Prosecutors have indicted Raj Matharu, 31, with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, according to a Department of Justice news release. Matharu is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
He is free on a $10,000 bond.
“Drug dealers are continually inventing creative ways of smuggling dangerous narcotics in pursuit of illicit profit — as alleged in the facts of this case,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “In the process, they are poisoning communities throughout the world. Law enforcement is committed to fighting drug trafficking, knowing that every seizure saves lives.”
Matharu was preparing to board a late-night United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 6 when he attempted to check two pieces of luggage, a pink suitcase and a gray suitcase, according to court documents. Screening officers X-rayed the suitcases and pulled them for “secondary inspection” after discovering “an anomaly.”
When law enforcement officers unzipped the suitcases, they found various “white or light-colored clothing items that were dried stiff and covered in a white residue,” according to a criminal complaint filed in the Central District of California. Officers field-tested a sample of the residue, which yielded positive results for meth.
The total weight of the meth-soaked clothing items was roughly 71.5 pounds.
In the pink suitcase, Customs and Border Protection officers found white residue on five white T-shirts, eight pairs of women’s underwear, 19 pairs of socks, two sports bras, three tank tops, two towels, one cardigan sweater, one hoodie, one fleece sweater, the onesie pajama and two sweaters.
In the gray suitcase, officers found white residue on two towels, six pairs of socks, five boxers, seven tank tops, one pair of sweatpants, two pairs of jeans, four hoodies, one polo shirt, two button-up shirts and one long sleeve top.
In a sworn affidavit, Homeland Security Investigations agent Megan Palmer wrote in part: “I believe in this instance the white methamphetamine was ‘washed’ into the white clothing and left to dry.”
“Based on my training and experience,” Palmer added, “I know that over time in a room temperature or cold environment, the solution would evaporate and then the powdered methamphetamine would separate from the shirt, forming a white residue.”
Matharu was intercepted at an LAX boarding gate and taken into custody on the morning of Nov. 7, according to the criminal complaint. If he is convicted, he would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life behind bars.
