Burbank airport police seize 40 pounds of marijuana from Alabama-bound luggage
An Alabama man was taken into custody earlier this month after he tried to smuggle 40 pounds of marijuana through Hollywood Burbank Airport, authorities say.
Dejuan Rashad Dedrick, a 27-year-old from Birmingham, was charged by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office last week with false impersonation of another person, burglary and attempted transportation of marijuana out of the state.
Sgt. Derek Green, a spokesman for the Burbank Police Department, said Dedrick allegedly tried to send two suitcases containing marijuana on the morning of Jan. 19 through an outgoing Delta Airlines flight to Birmingham. He added that Burbank police handled the criminal filing for the incident, while the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority Police Department was the arresting agency.
Dedrick’s suitcases were flagged as suspicious just prior to departure when the airline crew noticed that, while his luggage was on the flight, he was not. The airline tried to locate Dedrick at the airport, but Green said he was nowhere to be found.
The suitcases were removed from the flight and sent through an additional security check, where it was discovered that 40 pounds of marijuana were hidden in the luggage.
It’s unknown where the marijuana came from or what it would’ve been used for once it got to Alabama.
Green said Dedrick returned to the airport the next day to retrieve the luggage and was subsequently taken into custody by airport police. Authorities also found he had used the identity of another person to book his flight.
Dedrick is currently being held in lieu of $165,000 bail and also has an extradition hold from Alabama for a narcotics-related warrant.
Twitter: @Andy_Truc
