CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. (KOIN) — Federal authorities are making their case for keeping more than $131,000 seized in Medford, as part of what they believe to be a multi-state marijuana smuggling operation.
Court documents filed January 25 in the U.S. District Court of Oregon chronicle the events that began in New Orleans, then spiraled into the seizure of bundles of cash in Medford, a drug raid in Northern California, and another seizure involving the same key players some 1,600 miles away in Oklahoma.
KOIN 6 News is not naming the individuals involved since they do not appear to have been charged with a crime. Rather, the federal government is listing the money itself as the defendant in this case.
Medford: Interrogations yield conflicting stories, bundles of cash
The July 29, 2020 cash seizure at the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport happened after Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officers in San Diego contacted their Medford counterparts to report “suspicious activity” by cousins CL and SL, as well as KA, who were believed to be flying to Medford after originally departing from New Orleans, according to court documents.
DEA agents, Oregon State Police, and Medford Police waited for the plane to land and intercepted the travelers’ baggage as it was being unloaded. Investigators seized six pieces of luggage and brought in a drug-sniffing dog, which alerted to all six bags, court documents state. Investigators said the scent of marijuana was strong enough to detect as they handled the bags.
Meanwhile, the three travelers were waiting in the baggage claim area, likely unaware of what was happening until agents approached them, asked if the bags belonged to them and, when they answered affirmatively, took them into a quieter part of the airport for individual questioning, according to court documents.
The three gave numerous conflicting statements about the reason for and destinations of their travels, including that they were heading to Northern California to hike, or to see family, officials said.
KA allowed authorities to search his bags, though they first had to obtain keys from CL to unlock them, according to court documents. The luggage consisted “almost entirely of camouflage cargo shorts” that still had the tags on them. In the pockets: bundles of cash. CL’s bags would also reveal a “large amount of currency concealed in the same fashion,” authorities said.
“I guess I’ll just have to take my lumps then … I ain’t no snitch or nothing.”
KA as quoted in Court document filed January 25, 2021 in the United State District Court of Oregon
Special Agent David Wentworth noted in court documents that out-of-state marijuana purchasers often obtain a one-way flight, conceal money in clothes, then buy the drugs and rent a car and take the goods back to the original state. According to Wentworth, that’s why the luggage often smells like marijuana on subsequent trips. No drugs appear to have been found on the three travelers.
Wentworth told KA he could face criminal charges for exporting marijuana back to Louisiana and asked who was in charge of the plan. KA allegedly responded, “I guess I’ll just have to take my lumps then … I ain’t no snitch or nothing.”
However, KA allegedly let agents search his phone, revealing messaged between himself and a person named BC, who SL identified as CL’s brother and said lived in Southern Oregon, according to court documents.
Messages from early July included packing instructions, questions about whether KA had made it to “Nola” and, later, if he had landed yet, according to court documents. Correspondence continued on July 22 with KA asking BC, “You bought the ticket?” and BC responding that he was about to and had forgotten because he had “been messing with trimmers,” according to court documents.
Later that day, BC allegedly sent KA a screenshot of the travel itinerary, and KA sent the other man a video of the inside of the suitcase containing clothes.
Based upon the messages, agents believed KA and CL planned on more than one prior occasion to transport large amounts of money from Louisiana, at BC’s direction, Wentworth stated in court documents.
Meanwhile, SL allegedly told authorities he lived in Houma, Louisiana and was traveling to see a friend who was making rap music videos in Southern Oregon. SL said he was going to be part of the “entourage,” according to court documents. SL allegedly admitted the videos were being filmed in marijuana grows when pressed for details.
Agents did not report finding any currency in SL’s luggage, though they did note that his biggest suitcase had a second suitcase inside of it. A third, even smaller suitcase, was inside that. They also said it smelled like marijuana and contained “various articles of clothing.” SL allegedly denied knowing his companions were carrying so much money.
KA and SL both said they were receiving unemployment, but CL said she worked for a company offering product samples to retailers, though her work had decreased during the coronavirus pandemic.
After agents searched her luggage and found rubber-banded bundles of cash — most of which were labeled $2,000 — hidden in the pockets of cargo shorts, CL “reluctantly” answered that she supplemented her income with “online dancing” on OnlyFans, according to court documents.
“Stripping, and other things,” she allegedly said when questioned further. “I don’t prostitute, but I do things to get money.”
While she had started the interview by saying she only had a little money, that number increased until CL said all of the cash in her and KA’s suitcases belonged to her, court documents state.
Agents seized $131,735, but let all three passengers leave.
Shortly before CL left, she received a call on her phone from a contact believed to be BC. An agent answered the phone and the caller allegedly said they were trying to text CL information to show the money was being used to buy a property. At that point in the interview, no one had mentioned the purchasing of real estate, according to authorities.
Agents subpoenaed Alaska Airlines for flight information for all three passengers. The results indicated CL had made three trips from New Orleans to Medford in 2020; In February, April and July, according to court documents. KA and SL were only shown to have tickets for the July trip.
All the flights were one way. Although agents acknowledge the three individuals could have used a different airline for their return flights, they claim it’s more likely the three returned “via rental car, while transporting marijuana with them,” court documents state.
Northern California: A drug raid in August
Agents later learned BC’s “illegal marijuana cultivation activities” were under investigation by the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office in Northern California, according to court documents.
In late August, investigators executed a search warrant in McCloud, California, seizing 1,801 marijuana plants, around 250 pounds of marijuana that was being processed, about 28 pounds of marijuana packaged for sale, and “multiple firearms.”
BC was not present during the raid, but investigators said his girlfriend was and confirmed he lived there, according to court documents.
An Audi Q7 SUV registered to CL was parked outside, though she was not present at the time of the search either, investigators said.
Oklahoma: A traffic stop and another cash seizure in September
A month later, on September 24, DEA agents in Oklahoma allegedly stopped a car driven by BC on Highway 40 near the Texas border. SL was one of three passengers, court documents assert.
A search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery and seizure of $135,000 hidden in the jack storage area of the vehicle, as well as two handguns and three small baggies of marijuana. No one in the car claimed ownership of the money, according to authorities.