Police say the two bags that Miesha Bell, 20, checked in at a Tucson airport were packed with mari. One suitcase with 30 pounds of marijuana was confiscated by TSA in Tucson. The other made it to Albuquerque.
However police did not know what Bell from Wichita Falls, Texas looked like, until she slipped up.
"She actually checked with the airline to make sure her bags made the trip which allowed us to identify her physically," said Marshall Katz, the Albuquerque Aviation Police Chief.
Police caught up with Bell by her flight's gate.
A drug-sniffing dog found her suitcase amid all of the checked in bags and when police opened Bell's luggage, they found the drugs.
Police say they took the marijuana out in the open and weighed it on the baggage scales. It came in at 33.5 pounds.
"It's an accurate check on a regular basis," said Chief Katz about the baggage scales.
Police say Bell had been paid to smuggle the marijuana for a drug dealer. For her troubles, she would get $850 if she made it successfully to Dallas.
The 20 year-old admitted to police she had done this before.
"I would say so far it's been dumb luck [for Bell] and nothing more," said Katz.
Bell made her first appearance Tuesday in Metro Court.
She's charged with marijuana possession.
"An airline ticket, money for food, money for hotel and then $850. For some people, that sounds like a deal," said Chief Katz.
As of Tuesday, Bell is facing state charges, but she could also face federal charges and charges in Tucson because one bag was confiscated there.
Police say the plan was for Bell to arrive in Dallas, make a switch for the money, then she would turn around and do it all over again.
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