OAKLAND: Federal authorities say a former baggage handler at Oakland International Airport has pleaded guilty to conspiring with other former airport employees to smuggle marijuana.
The U.S. Attorney Office said former Southwest Airlines baggage handler Michael Videau pleaded guilty to the charges Wednesday in federal court.
The office says that in pleading guilty, the 29-year-old Videau admitted that in 2013 he used his security badge eight times to get through screening areas while carrying suitcases filled with marijuana. He then handed off the luggage to passengers waiting to board planes, who would transport them as carry-on to cities nationwide.
Videau was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2015 along with 12 co-defendants, including two other former baggage handlers. Federal prosecutors say Videau is free while awaiting trial on a $150,000 bond.
