NEW YORK: When Matthew Lawson admitted he swallowed 115 pellets of cocaine, containing more than two pounds of cocaine, he told investigators it wasn’t his first time smuggling drugs into South Florida.
Lawson, 32, was arrested Sept. 11 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after arriving on a flight from Jamaica.
He pleaded guilty to a drug smuggling charge in federal court in Fort Lauderdale.
“Lawson told law enforcement that he had been transporting cocaine internally for four years and that he started with just 15 pellets and worked his way up to higher amounts,” according to his plea agreement.
“Lawson further admitted that he had made approximately 15 successful transportation trips from Jamaica to the United States. On most trips, Lawson said he would carry just less than one kilogram [2.2 pounds] of cocaine internally,” prosecutor Jodi Anton wrote.
Lawson faces a maximum punishment of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine when sentenced in January.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers flagged Lawson, a U.S. citizen who lives in Broward County, for a baggage inspection when his Caribbean Airlines flight landed. They also patted him down but found nothing, according to court records.
Investigators said he was “exhibiting extremely nervous behavior” and admitted he had ingested 115 pellets containing narcotics in his digestive system. He was taken to hospital where an X-ray confirmed what he said. He passed the pellets over the next five days.
He told federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations and a Broward Sheriff’s deputy that he knew the capsules he swallowed contained cocaine because he recognized the smell. He said he expected to be paid between $4,000 and $5,000.
He said he had been told to leave his car in the airport parking lot and meet a man at a nearby hotel to deliver the cocaine. He said he was usually paid $5 per gram he delivered, which would compute to a payment of about $4,700 for the September delivery.
Lawson told investigators he was an Uber driver who also delivered raw sea shells from the U.S. to Jamaica for his aunt’s souvenirs company.
Officials from Homeland Security Investigations said there has been a recent uptick in “internal smuggler” or “bodypacker” arrests in South Florida but said these cases often tend to occur in waves or spurts.
A second man, Girvan Davis, 24, of Jamaica, who was also arrested at the airport in September, pleaded guilty Thursday in an unrelated case. He said he thought he had swallowed about 80 pellets but vomited several times. Authorities said he later passed 57 pellets containing close to 1.3 pounds of cocaine. He also faces as much as 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in January.
On Friday, a Pembroke Pines woman faces sentencing after admitting she swallowed 54 cocaine-filled pellets, totaling about 12.5 ounces of the drug.
Regis Walker, 29, said she used honey to make the drugs go down, a tip she learned watching “The Mule” on Netflix. The U.S. native, who was released on bond, also faces as much as 20 years behind bars.