ORLANDO, Fla. – A man was arrested Sunday after trying to smuggle 38 pounds of meth through the Orlando International Airport, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Drug Enforcement Agency officials said that on Sunday morning, a drug-detection canine reacted to one of the bags coming in from a recently-arrived Los Angeles flight at MCO.
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DEA agents argued that because Los Angeles is a “well-documented source city for controlled substances,” they decided to watch out for who picked up the bag from the baggage claim to make contact with them.
Later, agents found that a man — later identified as Michael Jayson Scarlett — had grabbed both the suspected bag and a suitcase from the baggage claim, the complaint shows. Agents said that Scarlett was seen speaking into a cell phone and pacing nervously back and forth.
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Agents then approached Scarlett to ask about the bags, and Scarlett answered that they were his, but his wife had packed them prior to the flight, agents said. In addition, Scarlett told agents that he was staying in Orlando for only a couple of days while he was looking for work, according to the DEA.
Scarlett was pulled aside to an interview room, and the suitcase was searched, agents said. Court records show that a pillow, shoes, several dryer sheets, and vacuum-sealed bags of suspected marijuana and methamphetamine wrapped in towels were found.
Between both of Scarlett’s suitcases, agents said they found around 4 pounds of suspected marijuana and approximately 38 pounds of suspected methamphetamine.
Scarlett then told agents that he knew “he was in a lot of trouble” and that “he deserved the trouble he was facing,” agents said.
According to DEA, Scarlett advised that he wanted to cooperate with the investigation, and he told agents that a person known as “Chewy” had offered him $500 to transport the suitcases to Orlando — something Scarlett had already done twice before.
Scarlett added that he saw Chewy as he got off the flight, though he hadn’t known that Chewy was going to be taking the same flight to Orlando, agents said.
Scarlett was arrested and brought to the Seminole County jail, agents said. He faces charges of possessing methamphetamine and attempting to help distribute methamphetamine.
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