12,000 suspected fentanyl pills found in candy boxes at LAX security checkpoint. It has now been confirmed that the pills were laced with fentanyl, leading to a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) investigation which ended with the seizure of a massive shipment of fentanyl-laced candies.
It is estimated that there are 100 million illegal fentanyl pills and the seizures of those filled with the synthetic opioid over the years have caused a huge public health crisis—one that has been devastating to people addicted to the drug, as well as their loved ones. But, not all drugs have been on the list of things to worry about. In 2013, a passenger on an international flight from Rio de Janeiro to the United States was found to have hidden a bottle of pills inside a shoe. The plane, which was en route to Hawaii, landed in the United States without the passenger noticing the bottle. The pills were found to contain a powerful but “safe” substance which was named after the plane, the Lockheed VC-135. At the time, the bottle was being tested by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and it was also found to contain other drugs which could be lethal in the wrong hands.
Not too long after that drug incident, it was discovered that the bottle of pills could have a lethal potency, thanks to the presence of a powerful sedative. The “airline drug”, named in honour of the plane that was on board, was also found to contain the powerful opioid fentanyl. These two drugs were deemed highly dangerous and were supposed to be banned by the FDA. The shoe was found in Chicago and the prescription bottle in Los Angeles, leading to arrests in both cities. Two people were arrested in each city and faced charges including federal drug trafficking and possession charges.
In the first case, the package was found in a garbage bag and the pills were found in a candy box in an airport security checkpoint. The passengers were charged for the drugs but it ended up being a much larger case, with a drug-sniffing dog finding fentanyl-laced candy boxes on both US Airways planes that were destined for LAX.
The second incident happened at LAX, where it was found