60 lb of cannabis found in suitcase at Antigua airport; valued at $480,000
Police and Customs found 60 vacuum-sealed packages of cannabis weighing 60 pounds (about 27.2 kg) in a suitcase at V.C. Bird International Airport on 17 December 2024. The cannabis was valued at $480,000 and taken to the police station for investigation.
🇦🇬 V.C. Bird International Airport, St John's, Antigua · Antigua and Barbuda
Police seized60 pounds of cannabis in a suitcase at V.C. Bird International
Airport on Tuesday 17 December 2024.[1]A suitcase was found holding 60
vacuum-sealed packages during a joint operation by Customs and the Police.[2]The 60 pounds is about 27.22 kg of cannabis.[3]
The cannabis was valued at $480,000 and was taken to the police station pending
further investigations.[1]Antigua News Room published the police media
release of the seizure under the heading 60 Pounds of Cannabis Seized at
Airport.[2]
The next day the police Narcotics Department and Customs announced a separate
seizure of a black suitcase with 28 packages weighing 33.4 pounds during
investigations into the first matter.[3]
Antigua News reported the same seizure, with the cannabis valued at $480,000.[4]
Photos and video
Photo published with the Observer's report of the 60-pound cannabis seizure at V.C. Bird International Airport. Photo: Antigua Observer NewspaperPhoto details
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Source: Antigua Observer NewspaperPhoto published with Antigua News's report of the cannabis packages found in a suitcase at V.C. Bird International Airport. Photo: Antigua NewsPhoto details
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Source: Antigua NewsSecond photo published with Antigua News's report of the 60-pound cannabis seizure at the airport. Photo: Antigua NewsPhoto details
No arrests were reported in connection with the suitcase seizure; the seized cannabis was taken to the police station for further investigation.
The sources do not give the suitcase's origin, the flight involved or who checked it in.
No figure for the number of people involved was published, so the arrested count is not recorded as zero.
The value is given as $480,000 without stating whether this means Eastern Caribbean or US dollars; the eastern Caribbean dollar is used because the case was in Antigua and Barbuda.
The 60-pound weight converts to about 27.22 kg; no metric weight was published.
The Observer, Antigua News Room and Antigua News all reproduce the same STRATCOM media release, so they are not independent accounts.
The Observer and Antigua News pictures carry no caption identifying the suitcase or packages, so it is not confirmed which picture shows this seizure.
The cannabis itself is described in the police release only as cannabis, without stating a product form such as dried flower or resin.
Antigua police and Customs seized 13 packages of cannabis weighing about 13 pounds and valued at EC$78,000 from two boxes at the LIAT Cargo Shed on 5 March 2026. No arrests were made, and investigators are working to trace the shipment's origin and destination.
Police and customs officers found six vacuum-sealed packages of cannabis weighing 12 pounds in a cardboard box during a routine search of the Customs Cargo Shed at V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua. Police valued the haul at about $72,000 and said investigations were ongoing; no arrest was reported.
Police and Customs found six boxes holding 116 vacuum-sealed cannabis packages in the V.C. Bird cargo shed on 22 October 2024, a seizure worth over half a million dollars. No arrests were reported.
Customs and police officers found ten pounds (about 4.5 kg) of cannabis in nine vacuum-sealed packages in a cardboard box during a search of a storage room at V.C. Bird International Airport on 30 August 2024. The Observer put the street value at $60,000, and the packages were taken to the police station while investigations continued.
