A 23-year-old Texas man was arrested at Miami International Airport after authorities said they found about 75 pounds of marijuana in his luggage as he prepared to board a flight to London.
Officials identified the suspect as Harrison O'Neill Tiernan of Austin, who had checked two suitcases for a British Airways flight to London's Heathrow Airport.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers selected the bags for inspection amid what they described as a high trend of narcotics being smuggled out of the United States. During the search, officers discovered dozens of vacuum-sealed packages containing a green leafy substance, according to NBC Miami.
Authorities said field tests showed the substance was marijuana, with the packages weighing about 34 kilograms, or nearly 75 pounds in total. Tiernan was stopped at the gate area and confirmed that the checked bags belonged to him, according to an arrest report. The marijuana was seized and placed into evidence.
Tiernan was taken into custody by the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and booked on a cannabis trafficking charge for more than 25 pounds but less than 2,000 pounds of marijuana, People reported.
Federal authorities reviewed the case but declined to pursue it because the amount did not meet their threshold for prosecution, leaving local deputies as the lead agency. Jail records show he was booked into the Metro West Detention Center on March 7.
A judge later set Tiernan's bond at $20,000 and ordered that he wear a GPS monitor if released, according to local reports.
As of the latest available information, he remained in custody pending further court proceedings. Authorities have not released additional details about why he may have been transporting the marijuana or whether others are suspected of involvement, as per National Today.
