TSA and the War on Drugs
May 6, 2012, 4:09 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 627
Proof the TSA is looking for drugs
I know someone who had a set of nesting suitcases that she had obtained from someone else, who it later turned out to be a kinda shady character.
She flew several times domestically, checking one of the smaller suitcases of the set. Every single time she flew, she got the TSA love letter, and her bag was hand-searched.
One day, she got out the biggest outer suitcase, and out fell a small capsule filled with cocaine, compliments of the previous owner. Upon seeing this capsule and realizing that the smell must have permeated all the suitcases in the nesting set, she ripped her name off the suitcases, took them to a skip far from her house, and threw them all out along with the cocaine, never to be seen or traced back to her.
This, however, is proof of something: on domestic flights, the TSA is using electronic sniffers or drug dogs, and are looking for drugs in checked bags.
She flew several times domestically, checking one of the smaller suitcases of the set. Every single time she flew, she got the TSA love letter, and her bag was hand-searched.
One day, she got out the biggest outer suitcase, and out fell a small capsule filled with cocaine, compliments of the previous owner. Upon seeing this capsule and realizing that the smell must have permeated all the suitcases in the nesting set, she ripped her name off the suitcases, took them to a skip far from her house, and threw them all out along with the cocaine, never to be seen or traced back to her.
This, however, is proof of something: on domestic flights, the TSA is using electronic sniffers or drug dogs, and are looking for drugs in checked bags.
May 6, 2012, 4:38 pm
#5
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 471
I know someone who had a set of nesting suitcases that she had obtained from someone else, who it later turned out to be a kinda shady character.
She flew several times domestically, checking one of the smaller suitcases of the set. Every single time she flew, she got the TSA love letter, and her bag was hand-searched.
One day, she got out the biggest outer suitcase, and out fell a small capsule filled with cocaine, compliments of the previous owner. Upon seeing this capsule and realizing that the smell must have permeated all the suitcases in the nesting set, she ripped her name off the suitcases, took them to a skip far from her house, and threw them all out along with the cocaine, never to be seen or traced back to her.
This, however, is proof of something: on domestic flights, the TSA is using electronic sniffers or drug dogs, and are looking for drugs in checked bags.
She flew several times domestically, checking one of the smaller suitcases of the set. Every single time she flew, she got the TSA love letter, and her bag was hand-searched.
One day, she got out the biggest outer suitcase, and out fell a small capsule filled with cocaine, compliments of the previous owner. Upon seeing this capsule and realizing that the smell must have permeated all the suitcases in the nesting set, she ripped her name off the suitcases, took them to a skip far from her house, and threw them all out along with the cocaine, never to be seen or traced back to her.
This, however, is proof of something: on domestic flights, the TSA is using electronic sniffers or drug dogs, and are looking for drugs in checked bags.
May 6, 2012, 4:39 pm
#6
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: USA
Posts: 1,685
I think what a lot of folks may not realize is that most of the dogs we see in airports are not trained in explosives, but K9s trained in drugs and tracking that have been deployed by local law enforcement to the airport to continue the security theater show...who cares if the dog can't detect explosives the show must go on!
I know in Ohio at one point they only had two explosives dogs in the whole state! But you'd see drug dogs at the airport to appear to be working.
I know in Ohio at one point they only had two explosives dogs in the whole state! But you'd see drug dogs at the airport to appear to be working.
May 6, 2012, 6:11 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 627
The cocaine was hidden in the largest suitcase of the nesting set. She always used one of the smaller inner-nested suitcases to fly, so the cocaine itself stayed in her house. Ergo, the suitcase she checked never had any drugs in it, but any drug dog would have smelled drugs, as traces of the smell permeated through to all the suitcases in the set.
May 6, 2012, 6:17 pm
#8
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 145
I know someone who had a set of nesting suitcases that she had obtained from someone else, who it later turned out to be a kinda shady character.
She flew several times domestically, checking one of the smaller suitcases of the set. Every single time she flew, she got the TSA love letter, and her bag was hand-searched.
One day, she got out the biggest outer suitcase, and out fell a small capsule filled with cocaine, compliments of the previous owner. Upon seeing this capsule and realizing that the smell must have permeated all the suitcases in the nesting set, she ripped her name off the suitcases, took them to a skip far from her house, and threw them all out along with the cocaine, never to be seen or traced back to her.
This, however, is proof of something: on domestic flights, the TSA is using electronic sniffers or drug dogs, and are looking for drugs in checked bags.
She flew several times domestically, checking one of the smaller suitcases of the set. Every single time she flew, she got the TSA love letter, and her bag was hand-searched.
One day, she got out the biggest outer suitcase, and out fell a small capsule filled with cocaine, compliments of the previous owner. Upon seeing this capsule and realizing that the smell must have permeated all the suitcases in the nesting set, she ripped her name off the suitcases, took them to a skip far from her house, and threw them all out along with the cocaine, never to be seen or traced back to her.
This, however, is proof of something: on domestic flights, the TSA is using electronic sniffers or drug dogs, and are looking for drugs in checked bags.
Your definition of proof is very different than mine.
castro
May 6, 2012, 6:22 pm
#9
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 145
See, this is why the so called "administrative" search standard is a joke. It is well known that the DEA has drug dogs sniffing around airport luggage and domestic cargo holds. I don't think it is much of a stretch that if the dog hits on something that the DEA fetches a TSA agents, asks them to do a "random" check on the bag, then if something is found they hand the bag over to the DEA.
castro
May 6, 2012, 6:30 pm
#10
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 471
DEA agents don't spend any time worried about small time drug users. Even local cops don't expend much effort on users. Sure when someone is dumb enough to get caught at a checkpoint they will respond. There simply isn't the resources or the will to focus on anything but the big cases.
castro
castro
May 6, 2012, 6:35 pm
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 38,417
They weren't--what she ended up finding was in the *OUTER* suitcase. She traveled with the *INNER* one--which kept being exposed to the bit of drugs in the outer one every time she put it away.
This doesn't prove it's drugs, though, there could have been something else that caused the TSA love note.
This doesn't prove it's drugs, though, there could have been something else that caused the TSA love note.
May 6, 2012, 6:37 pm
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 38,417
DEA agents don't spend any time worried about small time drug users. Even local cops don't expend much effort on users. Sure when someone is dumb enough to get caught at a checkpoint they will respond. There simply isn't the resources or the will to focus on anything but the big cases.
castro
castro
May 7, 2012, 12:18 am
#13
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 172
I had a similar scare once--bought a used car from the boyfriend of a friend, who likewise turned out to be a bit shady. A few months after I bought it, I lost a bracelet down the back of the back seat, and fumbling around for it found three marijuana cigarettes. My blood ran cold when I realized that I'd taken the car to Canada earlier...gave the car a right proper spring cleaning after that!
May 7, 2012, 4:06 am
#14
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Baltimore, MD USA
Programs: Southwest Rapid Rewards. Tha... that's about it.
Posts: 4,332
DEA agents don't spend any time worried about small time drug users. Even local cops don't expend much effort on users. Sure when someone is dumb enough to get caught at a checkpoint they will respond. There simply isn't the resources or the will to focus on anything but the big cases.
castro
castro
This could lead to a very interesting experiment - pick ten pieces of identical luggage and expose five of them to drugs. Give them at random to 10 frequent fliers and see how many of them are hand searched, and how often. Exchange them constantly so that each traveler gets each bag once, thus eliminating the possibility of the contents causing the search rather than the bag itself.
Personally, I'd be willing to bet that the 5 that are exposed to drugs will be searched at a much higher rate than the 5 that are not. Because I believe that the dogs in the airport are, indeed, drug sniffers and not bomb sniffers.
In a related issue, I'm very curious to know whether the swabs taken at the checkpoint from travelers' persons or possessions are also chemically tested for drugs, as well as nitrates.