A San Fernando Valley man was charged Tuesday with allegedly possessing meth-soaked clothes, together with cow pajamas, as he ready to board a flight from Los Angeles Worldwide Airport to Australia.
Raj Matharu, a 31-year-old resident of Northridge, is charged with one rely of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The methamphetamine-laden clothes consisted of over a dozen objects packed into two suitcases.
Mataru is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, Dec. 2, in U.S. District Court docket in downtown Los Angeles. He’s free on $10,000 bond.
“Drug sellers are continuously devising artistic methods to smuggle harmful medicine in pursuit of unlawful revenue — as alleged within the info of this case,” mentioned U.S. Legal professional Martin Estrada. “Within the course of, they’re poisoning communities all over the world. Legislation enforcement is dedicated to combating drug trafficking, realizing that each seizure saves lives.”
On Nov. 6, Mataru tried to journey from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia, in keeping with courtroom paperwork. He checked in two baggage on the ticket counter, one pink suitcase and one grey suitcase.
After the baggage was checked, the airport workers X-rayed it. The scan confirmed irregularities, prompting officers to drag the bag for rechecking. When officers opened the suitcases, they discovered greater than a dozen light-colored objects of clothes coated in white residue, in keeping with authorities.
The rest examined optimistic for methamphetamine. The overall weight of the meth-soaked clothes was roughly 32.4 kilograms or 71.5 kilos. Greater than a kilogram of methamphetamine residue was later recovered by legislation enforcement from the clothes in Mataru’s possession.
Cops met Mataru on the bridge of the airplane earlier than his flight to Australia. He was later arrested.
Mataru faces a compulsory minimal sentence of 10 years in federal jail and a statutory most sentence of life in jail if convicted.
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