Officials allege Clinton Twp. woman tried to fly to London with 74 pounds of marijuana

Massachusetts authorities charged a Clinton Township woman this week in connection with allegedly trying to bring 74 pounds of marijuana on a Europe-bound flight.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents first seized the suspected cannabis from 28-year-old Nalexus Palmer on Saturday at Logan Airport, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said in a news release.

Agents seized two large suitcases containing an Apple AirTag in each and multiple vacuum-sealed bags of cannabis, according to the statement.

Palmer planned to fly to London after flying from Detroit to Boston, officials said.

While cannabis possession is legal in Michigan and Massachusetts, the drug is illegal in the United Kingdom, where the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said it has an $5,000 per pound illicit-market street value.

The drugs Massachusetts State Police seized would have had a street value of $370,000, according to the release.

Palmer told police another woman dropped the bags off to her earlier that day and she did not know what was inside, investigators said.

She said a man whose name she did not know paid her on Zelle and Cash App and arranged the Saturday drop-off, according to the release.

The man Palmer met in Atlanta four years earlier would provide money for a car once she arrived to London, she told police.

Palmer had done business with the man before without issues and had no reason to suspect anything illegal, Francisco Napolitano, a lawyer representing Palmer told The Detroit News.

"Maybe it wasn't very smart not to ask what was in the packages," Napolitano said. "Okay, I'll give you that much. But that's not a crime. From our perspective, that's what it is: there's a lot of unanswered questions."

An East Boston Division Boston Municipal Court judge set a $3,000 bail for Palmer, according to the release.

Judge Debra DelVecchio also ordered Palmer to stay away from Logan Airport except for legitimate travel and to surrender her passport.

“While laws regarding simple possession in Michigan, Massachusetts and many other states may have changed, laws regarding marijuana trafficking haven’t, and anyone thinking they can move large quantities across state or international lines is taking a major risk," Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in the release. "This defendant discovered that very quickly over the weekend.”

Palmer's next court appearance will be at a May 24 probable cause hearing.