Woman sentenced after boarding flight for Florida with whole lot of pot

Woman sentenced after boarding flight for Florida with 62 pounds of marijuana (Courtesy: Alachua County Sheriff's Office)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A California woman has been sentenced after deputies said she packed dozens of pounds of marijuana in her luggage for a flight to Florida.

In May 2021, Alachua County deputies said they were informed that a passenger had boarded an American Airlines flight in Sacramento for Gainesville with “individual packages of marijuana, each weighing approximately 1 pound inside her luggage.”

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Because of weather concerns, the luggage made it to Gainesville Regional Airport before Mandy Lee Carlson, 31, and was placed in a secure location in the airport.

When Carlson arrived later, deputies said she picked up the luggage and was immediately detained.

During a check, a drug-sniffing K-9 alerted that the luggage contained marijuana. Deputies searched and said they found 62 pounds of pot.

Last week, Carlson entered a plea of no contest to charges of possession with intent to sell cannabis and transportation of drug paraphernalia.

She was sentenced to a year in prison and two years of probation.


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Steve Owen is the Assistant News Director at WPLG, and helps lead the daily news operations.

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