Woman, Ashley Nguyen, caught with 40 pounds of marijuana in suitcases at airport as she reportedly told investigators she flew into Charleston to give someone the suitcases but could not say who

The Charleston County Aviation Authority says a woman is facing charges after having 40 pounds of marijuana in her suitcases. (Read More Here).

Ashley Nguyen, 27, is charged with  marijuana greater than 10 pounds but less than 100 pounds first offense.

During a narcotics investigation, airport police received a tip about someone flying into the Charleston International Airport with a large number of narcotics.

An airport employee then told one of the officers that a large red suitcase that came off a flight from Charlotte smelled like “weed.”

At the baggage claim area, police say Nguyen picked two suitcases, one red and one tan. She then told investigators she flew into Charleston to give someone the suitcases but could not say who the person was or where they were meeting, according to an incident report.

Officers then searched the suitcases and found several vacuum-sealed bags with hard black plastic around them. As the search continued, Nguyen told investigators she knew it was narcotics in the suitcases; she was then arrested, the incident report stated.

In total, police say the red suitcase contained 15 bags, and the tan suitcase had 16 bags, which equaled 40.2 pounds,

Nguyen is currently booked in the Al Cannon Detention Center, Her bond is set at $150,000.

Officers responded to the luggage cart and confirmed the suitcase smelled of marijuana, according to the report. The luggage had a tag with the name Ashley Nguyen on it.

Investigators then went to the baggage claim area with a K-9, who alerted to the same red suitcase smelling of marijuana.

When a woman came and picked up the luggage, officers approached her, according to the report. The woman identified herself as Ashley Nguyen, 27, of California.

She said she knew her two bags contained marijuana and that she was supposed to be meeting someone, then gave officers consent to search the locked luggage.

Inside the two suitcases were several vacuum-sealed bags with hard plastic around them. Many of the bags had stickers on them, which read “PLEASE HANDLE WITH CARE – GLASS.”

In total, officers recovered 31 vacuum-sealed bags weighing 40.2 lbs.