Terese L. White Texas flight attendant pleads guilty to drug smuggling after caught with 3 pounds of fentanyl at San Diego airport while going through member crew security.
At what cost killing vulnerable people? A Dallas, Texas, flight attendant pleaded guilty to drug trafficking after she was caught smuggling fentanyl taped to her abdomen at a California airport earlier this year.
Terese L. White, 41, pleaded guilty in federal court, admitting she used her privileges as a flight attendant to get through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening to smuggle fentanyl.
Fentanyl at 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine is the leading cause of overdose drug deaths in the United States. Over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
In 2021, nearly 108,000 people died of drug overdoses; 71,000 of whom died from fentanyl or fentanyl-related substances.
The Department of Justice said White admitted that on Oct. 4, 2022, she was off-duty and flew from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to San Diego International Airport.
Abuse of authority, power and status
According to a DOJ release, White exited the secure area of the airport after arriving, and when she returned to catch a scheduled flight to Boston, Massachusetts, attempted to bypass regular TSA screening, using the Known Crew Member queue, which has less-rigid security protocols.
Despite being in the queue, she was selected for regular screening (‘Oh no, now I am totally f**ked’), which is when TSA officers discovered she had concealed packages taped to her abdomen.
The packages, the DOJ said, contained more than 3 pounds of fentanyl.
According to the complaint filed against her, White set off a walk-through metal detector and a body scanner, which alerted TSA officers to her abdomen, NBC San Diego reported.
White’s plea agreement includes an admission that she tried to use her status as a flight attendant to commit the offense. White is scheduled to be sentenced on March 24, 2023, by US District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo and faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
‘Drug traffickers use air, land and sea for personal gain, putting people’s lives in danger,’ DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly Howe said. ‘We will continue the great work with our partners to bring traffickers to justice and keep our community safe.’
