Ex-Delta Baggage Handler Pleads Guilty To Sneaking Drugs Into Checked Luggage At LAX
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A former Delta baggage handler pleaded guilty Thursday to sneaking drugs into checked baggage at Los Angeles International Airport.
KNX 1070's Claudia Peschiutta reported that Ruben Mendoza, 35, of Rialto, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to enter an airport area in violation of security requirements. He faces up to five years in prison. Other charges against him are due to be dropped.
Ex-Delta Baggage Handler Pleads Guilty To Sneaking Drugs Into Checked Luggage At LAX
Another ex-Delta baggage handler also pleaded guilty in the case.
"(Mendoza) would enter through an employee entrance before beginning a shift as a baggage handler. He would carry backpacks of drugs inside," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Williams. "By doing so, those bags would not be subject to the security requirements."
Williams said Mendoza would then put the drugs in checked luggage after it had gone through the screening process.
The drugs were smuggled onto flights headed for the East Coast.
