Employees Accused Of Taking Bribes To Allow Narcotics Shipments Through

Four current and former airport screeners have been arrested for allegedly allowing narcotic shipments to pass through x-ray checkpoints in exchange for payments up to $2,400. The four individuals were arrested over incidents that occurred between February and July 2011.

The Chicago Tribune reports that three of the incidents involved a confidential source for the U.S. DEA, but on the other two occasions the screeners allowed smugglers operating independently to pass through their checkpoints, according to the indictment. This is the first instance of TSA employees being accused of complicity in smuggling, an agency spokesman said.

"The allegations in this case describe a significant breakdown of the screening system through the conduct of individuals who placed greed above the nation's security needs," U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr said in a statement. The federal indictment said a total of over 40kg of cocaine, over 20kg of marijuana and about 4kg of methamphetamine had gone through security checkpoints on the five occasions.

TSA spokesman Nico Melendez said he was not aware of other cases where agency screeners had taken bribes for allowing drugs to pass, although the FBI said there was at least one other case where a screener was accused, also in Los Angeles. Authorities could not say if that resulted in a conviction.

FMI: www.tsa.gov