A student was arrested at LAX after security found her pink suitcase was filled with what federal authorities allege was more than a dozen white T-shirts that had been soaked in liquid methamphetamine.
The U.K. student, Myah Saakwa-Mante, had stopped off in Los Angeles for two days and returned to Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 2 to check in for a Qantas Airlines flight. Her ultimate destination was Brisbane, Australia.
She told federal agents she was on her way to meet her boyfriend for the first time.
After an initial security screening flagged Saakwa-Mante’s luggage as “potential” contraband, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers opened the suitcase and found jeans, shoes and a Louis Vuitton bag. “The officers also noticed a white powder residue that was loose in the suitcase and was visible on their black gloves,” according to an affidavit summarizing the incident.
Suspicious, the officers unzipped the suitcase’s lining and found a stack of 13 white T-shirts “that were wet and appeared to be caked with a white powdery substance,” according to the affidavit.
Authorities intercepted Saakwa-Mante at her gate before her flight departed, and she briefly spoke to federal officials. Saakwa-Mante, who is listed in court records as about 20 years old, confirmed to agents that she owned the suitcase and outlined the global jaunt to meet her boyfriend.
Although she admitted to purchasing the white T-shirts from Target — and had the receipts to prove it — she “claimed to have no knowledge” of the white powder that was caked onto the wet shirts, the affidavit states.
Officers field-tested the substance on the T-shirts and confirmed it was methamphetamine. The total amount of the drug is unclear; the agent’s affidavit contains an estimate of “several kilograms” of the drug were soaked in the T-shirts.
In his affidavit, Special Agent Omar Yasin of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations opined that the methamphetamine “was originally in a powder form,” then diluted with a solvent and blended with the shirts. “Over time in a room temperature or cold environment, the solution would evaporate and then the powdered methamphetamine would separate from the shirts,” resulting in the powdery residue, the agent wrote.
After her arrest, Saakwa-Mante was charged in U.S. District Court with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine with an intent to distribute. Authorities seized two of her phones and asked a federal judge for permission to search the devices as part of their investigation, according to a criminal complaint filed Nov. 4.
On Nov. 5, Saakwa-Mante appeared in federal court in downtown L.A. It was unclear whether she entered a plea. Her court-appointed attorney, deputy federal public defender Rebecca Harris, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Saakwa-Mante has been held in custody since her arrest, with prosecutors arguing that there was “a serious risk” that she could flee the country. Her attorney has moved for her release before trial, and a hearing is scheduled Tuesday over the request.
