Massachusetts woman arrested after Pittsburgh CBP officers intercept 54 pounds of UK-bound marijuana

PITTSBURGH – A Massachusetts woman is facing felony narcotics charges after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered more than 54 pounds of marijuana in her London-bound baggage at Pittsburgh International Airport on May 24.

Allegheny County Police Department officers arrested Jetta Monet Corbett, 30 years old, of Brockton, Mass. Corbett is facing multiple state charges to include one felony count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance

While inspecting passenger baggage being loaded onto the London-bound flight, CBP officers discovered numerous vacuum-sealed packages inside two black, hard-sided suitcases. CBP officers identified the passenger as Corbett through baggage tags, detained her at the departure gate, and escorted Corbett and her checked baggage to CBP’s inspection station for a secondary examination.

During the secondary examination, CBP officers discovered a total of 49 vacuum-sealed packages inside the two suitcases. The packages contained a green leafy substance that field tested positive for marijuana.

The marijuana weighed a combined 24.76 kilograms, or 54 pounds, nine ounces. The marijuana had a street value of about $240,000. Depending on potency, this shipment could have fetched two to three times more in Europe.

Though CBP bulk marijuana seizures at PIT airport are extremely rare, CBP officers across the country continue to observe a trend of transnational criminal organizations attempting to transport marijuana through passenger baggage and express air delivery to Europe and Africa where high-quality weed can generate huge profits.

Despite some states decriminalizing marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, marijuana possession and use remains illegal under federal law. Federal law also prohibits transporting marijuana across state lines or exporting it from the United States.

CBP officers turned Corbett and the marijuana over to Allegheny County Police officers.

Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

“Anyone considering making a quick buck by carrying bulk marijuana loads for drug trafficking organizations should realize that the consequences you face can be severe when Customs and Border Protection officers catch you,” said James Hindes, CBP’s Acting Port Director for the Port of Pittsburgh. “One way that law enforcement agencies can combat transnational criminal organizations is to hit them hard in the wallet, so CBP will continue to seize these marijuana loads when we encounter them and deprive criminals of this illicit revenue.”

Every day, CBP officers and agents seized an average of 1,571 pounds of dangerous drugs last year at and between our nation’s air, sea, and land ports of entry. See CBP’s enforcement stats to see what other dangerous drugs CBP is encountering at our nation’s borders.

CBP's border security mission is led at our nation’s Ports of Entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.

See what CBP accomplished during "A Typical Day" in 2024. Learn more at www.CBP.gov.

Follow the Director of CBP’s Baltimore Field Office on X at @DFOBaltimore for breaking news, current events, human interest stories and photos, and CBP’s Office of Field Operations on Instagram at @cbpfieldops.