A man has been arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after checking in two suitcases filled with meth-caked clothing, including a cow pajama onesie.
Raj Matharu, 31, of Northridge, tried to check in two pink and gray suitcases on November 6 at LAX for a flight heading to Sydney, Australia, the US Attorney’s Office said on Tuesday.
Inside the cases was more than a dozen items of clothing including underwear, socks, sweatpants, hoodies, and a cow pajama onesie all soaked in methamphetamine, according to court documents, seen by the LA Times.
Airport screening officers x-rayed the suitcases and noticed “irregularities,” which prompted a second inspection of the cases.
After opening the cases, the officers found “more than a dozen white or light-colored clothing items that were dried stiff and covered in a white residue” inside, prosecutors said.
The items tested positive for methamphetamine.
Prosecutors said the drug-caked clothing weighed around 71 pounds, estimating the items had been washed in more than 30 pounds of white methamphetamine solution.
Matharu was arrested on the jet bridge as he boarded his flight.
He was charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
The 31-year-old was released on a $10,000 bond secured by a relative, according to the LA Times.
If found guilty, Matharu faces up to life in federal prison.
United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement: “Drug dealers are continually inventing creative ways of smuggling dangerous narcotics in pursuit of illicit profit – as alleged in the facts of this case.
“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 will next appear in court in downtown LA on December 2.
