Two Canadians held after 79 marijuana packages seized at Punta Cana
DNCD officers seized 79 packages of marijuana from two unclaimed suitcases that arrived from Toronto at Punta Cana airport on 4 March 2025. Canadians later named as Cassandra DiPietro and Zach Crawford were arrested as they tried to leave and, according to a 2026 account, were held for months before the charges were dropped.
🇩🇴 Punta Cana International Airport, La Altagracia · Dominican Republic
Arrested
2
Agencies
Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas (DNCD), Cuerpo Especializado de Seguridad Aeroportuaria (CESAC) +1
On 4 March 2025, two suitcases holding 79 packages of marijuana were left
unclaimed in the arrivals area of Punta Cana International Airport.[1]The
suitcases had arrived on a flight from Toronto.[2]One suitcase held 45
packages and the other 34, wrapped in clear and black plastic.[3]Agents of
the DNCD and the airport security corps CESAC, coordinated by the Public
Ministry, seized the packages at the airport in La Altagracia province.[3]
The DNCD said Zachery Crowford and Casandra Diprieto were arrested on judicial
orders as they tried to leave through the same airport and were investigated
over those suitcases.[1]A later account identified the couple as Cassandra
DiPietro and Zach Crawford and said the tag on Cassandra’s bag had been switched
onto a bag full of marijuana.[4]That account said they were led away to face
charges of importing 79 packages of Canadian marijuana.[4]
The couple were stuck in the Dominican Republic for 100 days.[4]They remained
for months even after the charges were dropped, after authorities determined the
marijuana-filled suitcases did not belong to them.[4]
Photos and video
Marijuana seized from two unclaimed suitcases at Punta Cana International Airport. Photo: El DíaPhoto details
El Díaeldia.com.doES¿Sin dueño? DNCD incauta 79 paquetes de marihuana que fueron abandonados en aeropuerto de Punta Cana
Acentoacento.com.doESIncautadas dos maletas con 79 paquetes de marihuana en aeropuerto de Punta Cana
CP24cp24.comEXCLUSIVE: Luggage-tag switching scheme involves flights from Canada to countries where drug smuggling can carry death penalty
Open questions the AI reported
No weight in kilograms was published for the 79 packages.
The DNCD arrest note names Zachery Crowford and Casandra Diprieto for the 79-package suitcases, while the 2026 account says three Canadians were led away on those charges and spells the couple Cassandra DiPietro and Zach Crawford.
The DNCD note also names David Benett in a separate seizure of 90 bales of marijuana and one package of suspected crack at the same airport days earlier; that seizure is not counted here.
The March 2025 notes describe the suitcases as abandoned and unclaimed, while the 2026 account says a bag tag was switched at Toronto Pearson; the two accounts are not reconciled.
No exact date was published for the arrests, for when the charges were dropped, or for any court file.
The National Police said 28 people were detained in a preventive sweep across La Vega province on 30 October 2026, alongside soldiers and DNCD drug agents. Police reported 108 portions of suspected marijuana and eight knives, but gave no weight for the drug and no grounds for the detentions.
The DNCD reported seizing 11,065.01 kg of marijuana and 16.44 kg of hashish between April and June 2026, part of 16,671.16 kg of all drugs in its second-quarter statistical summary. The same operations produced 12,548 detentions, most of them in June, when San José de Ocoa accounted for 7,789.97 kg of marijuana.
Dominican anti-drug agents seized 11 packages of suspected marijuana hidden inside a bench seat shipped from Miami to Las Américas airport in Boca Chica. No arrests were reported, and the material was sent to the national forensics institute while prosecutors investigate those responsible and the shipment's destination.
Three Dominicans were detained off Baní after a 15-hour air-sea-land pursuit intercepted a 32-foot boat carrying 1,360 suspected cocaine packages and 30 blocks of apparent marijuana. The DNCD-led operation with US and Colombian support sent the 1,390 packages for forensic analysis, with the network investigation still open.
