O.C. Woman Held in Boston After Drug Bust at Airport

A 43-year-old Newport Beach woman faces federal drug charges after she was arrested at a Boston airport on suspicion of transporting about $2.5 million worth of methamphetamine.

In what federal officials call the largest single methamphetamine bust in New England, Constance L. Clayton was arrested Tuesday in a baggage claim area at Logan International Airport after about 10 kilograms of methamphetamine were found in her luggage, authorities said.

Clayton, who flew to Boston via Ontario, Calif., and Dallas, had just grabbed two bags from a luggage carousel when agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Massachusetts state police approached her and asked to search her bags, said Stephen Morreale, DEA special agent in Boston.

The agents found the illegal drug in one of Clayton’s bags after she consented to a search, Morreale said.

Clayton, arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, was held in a local jail without bail, pending a detention hearing scheduled for today, he said.

The drug bust was “unusual for us,” Morreale said, adding that cocaine is “the drug of choice on the East Coast.” He said, however, that he was not surprised that the drug came from the West Coast, where the use and manufacture of methamphetamine are more common.

Morreale declined to elaborate on how federal agents were tipped to Clayton’s arrival at Logan.

“We will track forward and backward to see where it’s headed and where it came from,” he said. “It could be she is a ‘mule’ or she’s a higher-up. It’s too early to tell.”