BALTIMORE – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) revoked two Global Entry members’ privileges this week for violating U.S. narcotics possession laws.
On Wednesday, CBP officers revoked the Global Entry status from a woman who was in possession of a collection of various DEA Schedule II and IV pills that were not prescribed to her.
after CBP K9 Pike alerted to this
illicit cache.
On Monday, CBP officers revoked the Global Entry status of a man and assessed him a $500 Zero Tolerance penalty after officers discovered more than three grams of marijuana in the man’s baggage. The former trusted traveler also possessed THC gummies and magic mushroom-infused chocolate. CBP narcotics detector dog Pike initially alerted to the man’s baggage.
CBP is not identifying either traveler because they were not criminally charged.
Global Entry allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. CBP randomly inspects trusted travelers to ensure continued compliance with the programs’ terms and conditions. Violations will result in the appropriate enforcement action and termination of the traveler’s membership privileges.
“Customs and Border Protection places a significant measure of trust in Global Entry members to comply with all U.S. laws. Trusted traveler status cannot be used as a license to smuggle illicit items or to deliberately violate our nation’s laws,” said Keith Fleming, Acting Director of Field Operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office. “Trusted traveler programs are a cornerstone to our border security mission to facilitate legitimate trade and travel and ensuring the integrity of these programs remains of paramount concern to us.”
These two Global Entry membership revocations follow two earlier membership revocations of trusted travelers at BWI.
On February 15, CBP officers detected marijuana and drug paraphernalia in a Global Entry member’s baggage and assessed a $500 Zero Tolerance penalty after he returned on a flight from Cancun, Mexico.
On January 18, CBP officers revoked a Global Entry member’s status and issued him a $500 Zero Tolerance penalty after CBP narcotics detector dog Pike alerted to marijuana in the man’s golf bag. The man returned to BWI on a flight from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Though some states have decriminalized marijuana possession or use, importation of illicit narcotics remains illegal according to federal law.
CBP seized an average of 3,677 pounds of dangerous drugs every day across the United States last year. Learn more about what CBP accomplished during “A Typical Day” in 2020.
CBP's border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. CBP officers screen international travelers and cargo and search for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.
Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders. Learn more about CBP at www.CBP.gov.
Follow the Director of CBP’s Baltimore Field Office on Twitter at @DFOBaltimore and on Instagram at @dfobaltimore for breaking news, current events, human-interest stories and photos.