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Two United Airways passengers flying from San Francisco to Gambia skilled an sudden delay in Chicago when U.S. Customs brokers allegedly discovered 143 kilos of marijuana of their baggage throughout a layover at O’Hare final weekend.
Authorities stated brokers intercepted the marijuana on November 21 throughout an outbound screening of two passengers who arrived from San Francisco on their strategy to Brussels with a last vacation spot in Gambia. Investigators allegedly seized greater than 84 kilos of hashish from baggage checked by 26-year-old Sonja Nava and one other 59 kilos of pot from baggage checked by 21-year-old Babacar Njie.
Officers stated Njie and Nava every checked two massive suitcases and every additionally checked a small carry-on on the gate in San Francisco. Federal brokers pulled them each apart for what is named an outbound secondary examination, a course of used to display passengers leaving the USA, once they arrived at O’Hare.
When officers requested Njie if he had checked any baggage, he allegedly stated no. However once they confirmed him the baggage bearing his identify tags, he admitted they belonged to him and stated another person packed them.
In a grievance, prosecutors stated Njie initially insisted he was touring alone to attend his grandmother’s funeral in Gambia and didn’t know Nava. He offered an elaborate story about agreeing to hold two suitcases of clothes from Seattle to San Francisco, the place he was handy them off to their proprietor, whom he didn’t know.
After what investigators described as a collection of contradictions, Njie allegedly recanted and stated he was picked up on the San Francisco airport by a person he knew as “Cranium,” who arrived with Nava already within the automobile. Njie stated they went to an Airbnb, the place clothes was faraway from the suitcases and huge portions of hashish had been loaded inside.
He allegedly informed investigators that “Cranium” bought his airfare to Gambia and that he anticipated “Cranium” to purchase his return ticket after the handoff abroad. Even so, Njie maintained that he didn’t really know Nava and that they had been probably not touring collectively. Investigators reported discovering a video on Njie’s cellphone recorded contained in the Airbnb that confirmed the suitcases being full of hashish.
Nava, in accordance with authorities, agreed to reply primary biographical questions however responded to most case-related inquiries by saying she couldn’t bear in mind or instructing investigators to ask one thing else, the grievance stated
The seized hashish has been despatched to the Illinois State Police crime lab for testing.
At separate hearings, Choose Antara Rivera ordered Nava to be positioned on digital monitoring, whereas Choose James Murphy allowed Njie to be launched with out monitoring however required him to give up his passport. Each are charged with hashish trafficking, possession of greater than 5,000 grams of hashish with intent to ship, and possession of greater than 5,000 grams of hashish.
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