Cruise Passengers Were Caught Bringing 160 Pounds of Weed Onboard, Court Documents Say
According to court filings, the weed was stored in 112 vacuum-sealed bags.
Do you know what's worse than getting caught with 56 vacuum-sealed weed bags on a cruise? Probably getting caught with double that amount. And yet, 112 bags of weed, totaling roughly 160 pounds, were reportedly discovered inside the luggage of two passengers—each allegedly carrying 56 bags—aboard a cruisethat was about to make its way from Miami to Southampton, England earlier this month.
According to court records obtained by Court Watch, on or about January 11 at Miami Sea Port, two passengers, Michael Quesenberry and Savannah Rose Minami, were approached by authorities in a passenger room after they noticed Quesenberry was carrying two suitcases. Minami claimed they had just met at the bar, and didn't know each other—so the authorities let her go.
But Minami only bought herself a few minutes, really. According to court filings, authorities proceeded to conduct a drug canine sniff on Quesenberry's luggage, and when it ended up in a positive result, they found 56 separate vacuum-sealed bags of weed. Quesenberry, then, tried his best to claim it was for personal use. But to no avail.
Then authorities went on to talk to Minami again and, to their disbelief, allegedly found another 56 bags of weed in her own luggage in her room. This time, however, court records don't make any mention of Minami trying to claim personal use on the controlled substance.
The pair was finally charged with drug trafficking and distribution. "Based on my training and experience, drug traffickers are increasingly turning to exportation of marijuana from the United States to England, due to the higher price of marijuana in England," reads the court document signed by the Homeland Security special agent who caught the pair.
Moral of the story: Maybe don't bring 160 pounds of weed on a cruise ship unless you're willing to risk it all for a ride on the high seas.