Two TSA screeners working at SFO were allegedly involved in a plot involving a third individual to smuggle multiple pounds of methamphetamine through security checkpoints in carry-on luggage. As the Examiner reports, all three were arrested Friday in connection with the operation, which was surveilled, in part, through accessing Facebook messages sent between the three.
As the Chronicle adds, the TSA agents now in custody are 30-year-old Claudio Rene Sunux of San Francisco and 27-year-old Amanda Lopez of South SF, and the third person and alleged smuggler is 28-year-old Anibal Giovanni Ramirez of San Francisco.
According to the just unsealed federal complaint, per CBS 5, Sunux is accused of arranging the operation while Lopez reportedly checked over the luggage in question on September 17. One bag contained "20 pounds of methylsulfonylmethane, a common filler or cutting agent" while the other "contained 68.5 grams of pure meth." Ramirez allegedly paid a bribe to the two agents in exchange for letting the meth slide through. It's unclear if the drugs were ever recovered, or if Ramirez was apprehended at the time.
All three are charged with conspiracy to distribute meth which could get them ten years to life, and they're additionally charged with bribery counts, which could mean additional prison time. Sunux and Lopez are scheduled to appear before a federal judge today, and Ramirez is scheduled to appear on Wednesday.
If nothing else, let this be a reminder that your Facebook messaging is not private. Also, meth is whack.