Columbia man charged with smuggling 40 pounds of marijuana in luggage, police say
A Columbia man flying home from California to South Carolina is charged with trafficking marijuana in his luggage, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department said.
Kevin Antwan Simmons, 43, was flying Sunday to Columbia Metropolitan Airport with 40 pounds of marijuana and $4,000 in his two suitcases, the sheriff’s department said.
Law enforcement officers in the Sacramento-area alerted South Carolina-based Drug Enforcement Administration agents that Simmons was flying into Columbia after his bags were X-rayed before his flight departed, the sheriff’s department said.
Marijuana is legal in California.
“Once Simmons landed and grabbed two suitcases at baggage claim, DEA and Lexington County narcotics agents approached him and he consented to a search of his bags,” Sheriff Jay Koon said in a statement.
Simmons was taken into custody after agents found the drugs and cash in the luggage at the Columbia Airport, the sheriff’s office said.
