https://www.thestar.com/news/ontario...ce000c43f.html
https://globalnews.ca/news/11751368/...cannabis-rcmp/


Imagine flying to Singapore and they found a suitcase of drugs under your name?

I remember one time the AC app told me a bag was being "accepted" (or loaded to the plane) out of nowhere when I don't have any checked bags. It was YUL-YOW on PAL, there was a lot of gate checked bags, I suspect they put the wrong passenger when tagging the bags. Maybe I should be alarmed by it.

Interesting. I remember one time I'd emailed the SFO concierge about something (probably SDC?), got an email back, and 30 seconds later "your bag has been accepted". The bag disappeared shortly after. I guess they'd obviously pulled up my file to help me out, and might have been in the middle of checking someone else in or something, so when they clicked "print bag tag"...

But man, imagine being pulled off your flight by RCMP for drugs in this scenario. Talk about embarrassing. I assume they'd be eligible for APPR delay compensation, since it was entirely due to the actions of an AC employee?

Clearly not as it would have obviously been for 'safety reasons'

Makes you wonder how many of these schemes are successful for every one we hear about?

Employee can get off the hook by apologizing in two languages.

From the RCMP website:

Atasha Weathley was held for bail and released with conditions. Her next court date is April 10, 2026

I wonder if the Union was able to get her back on for her next scheduled shift...innocent until proven guilty and all...

It all makes me wonder how 'secure' the 'secure area' at any airport really is?

I mean the so called background check is simply running your name though the CPIC database, you're cleared if nothing returns, e.g. You have never been caught or charged with a crime, or have any outstanding warrants... it's just a fancy Google search.

Upon searching the said individual, I mean she isn't lying on LinkedIn about organizing luggage and parcel on aircraft.

She should definitely should update her profile to "Available to Work" with skills including 'ability to assist in the international transport of illicit drugs'.

I think if I was the AC Ops Exec responsible for YYZ I'd be asking my team q's beyond how did this person get hired and stay in our employ, not to mention the q's Id have for the GTAA.

For example, how did they get 70 lbs of weed into the secure area? How were 70 lbs of weed not detected? From my experience it's kind of smelly stuff and I thought they had McGruff the Crime Dog running around the place 24/7? How did she get the baggage tags to apply that were associated with the legit pax to put on the bags with the weed? My experience is that when they come off they don't go back on so easily.

Arguably easier than smuggling a truck load of gold out? it won't even set off the metal detector.
Most airport security is just theatre, and CBSA is more concerned about drugs coming in than us exporting weed.
They usually have sniffing dogs in passenger area (i.e. baggage claim) so they can catch the person red-handed.

I believe they have the ability to print luggage tags (or does it have to be assisted by the gate agent ?) The same way how gate checked bags are done, she can simply lie about having 2 extra gate checked bags coming off the plane and provide a random seat number to the GA to print the tags ?

This is not the first time. There are other stories of innocent people spending weeks in jail because of this.

This being Canada, as opposed to countries like Singapore that have effective justice systems, this individual if convicted will get a light sentence in a Cadian prison, which is like being sent to a five star resort.

What bothers me the most is that the charges are way to light. Anyone who commits an act that has an innocent person detained should be charged with forcible confinement or kidnapping and if the innocent person is injured by police or in jail, then an assault charge is warranted. This is the same legal basis that a person who commits a swatting where an innocent person is killed that felony murder charges can be brought in some states.

In closing this individual, if found guily, should be forced to reimburse Air Canada shareholders for any expenses including any compensation paid.

I don't think you could get past the basic mens rea test. The criminal here absolutely did not want the victims caught, as it resulted in the drugs being seized.

Even if Canadian law allowed "forcible confinement by proxy" or "kidnapping by proxy" to be charged when police arrest the wrong person, there'd have to be intent. Maybe you could make that argument if Alice planted drugs on Bob, then called the police about "Bob's drugs". But not here.

Obviously she did not want the individuals caught but a deliberate act was committed which a reasonable person would know that a wrongful detention and human rights violations would occur.

This is why some states have updated their status to address wrongful deaths in swatting incidents.
An 18 year old playing a prank may not have cause death but if a death occurs they can still be charged with felony murder.

The only thing I would add if that if the drugs do make it and are intercepted in a country that has harsh laws then that country should have crack at prosecution first, nstead of wasting Canadian taxpayer dollars.

The security apparatus in Canadian airports is only concerned with explosives, or other similar things that could endanger an aircraft. They are not looking for drugs and really are not interested in them, it's not their area of concern. CATSA isn't the police, they are not interested in other areas of criminality.

Except the entire goal there is to have a SWAT team, guns drawn, break into someone's house, anticipating a fire fight.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/...ction-279.html

These charges don't apply, period, if someone else does it as a result of your actions.

There are obviously drug/smuggling/whatever charges, but any remedies the two victim pax have are going to be civil.

I think the likelihood of them being able to get anything on a civil judgement is pretty unlikely, unless the judge is willing to sentence her to be their maid LOL. Other than her meagerly AC wages, I would expect that any assets she might have would have come from ill-gotten gains, largely un-traceable and un-touchable as a result.

What I'm curious about is if this was just a half investigation, and/or only half of the story. Who was picking up the luggage on the other end? A different passenger on the flight or an airport employee? Maybe the stakes in this case were not big enough or circumstances not right to let it go through to the other end, possibly due to the innocent passengers involved.

Not being part of the Linked-in world, I'm impressed the accused ramp agent had a presence. I guess its a good place to advertise yourself regardless of your motive.