United Airlines Employees Accused of Stealing Marijuana Out of Passengers' Check Baggage in Years-Long Scheme The United States Justice Department believes the scheme dates back to 2020.
By Emily Rella •
Something smells suspicious about this one.
Two United Airlines bag handlers who worked at San Francisco International Airport are being accused of running a year-long scheme to steal marijuana from passengers' baggage, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Two men were charged with "conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance" after other employees who were approached to join the scheme became informants for the government, helping the feds to bust the ring.
Joel Lamont Dunn (who was coined as the head organizer of the ring) and Adrian Webb allegedly brought in up to three other airport employees to help steal marijuana starting in 2020 and put the drugs in multiple "15-20 gallon trash bags" before transferring the bags to their personal vehicles.
According to the unnamed informant, Dunn offered up to $2,000 per shift when the employees helped with the scheme, sometimes totaling $10,000 a week.
The men were caught after video camera footage showed the pair, and their accomplices, moving trash bags out of the airport. The accomplices were approached by police in October 2022 and were caught with 30 pounds of marijuana in vacuum-sealed bags.
United Airlines did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur's request for comment.
It's noted that marijuana is legal in the State of California but that it is still against federal law to fly with marijuana across state lines.
A trial date has not yet been set for the two men.
