(flashback)
Student sues over mistaken drug bust
By Associated Press > December 30, 2005
PHILADELPHIA When Bryn Mawr College freshman Janet Lee headed for a Christmas trip home two years ago, her luggage contained three condoms filled with flour which she and some friends made as a joke.
Philadelphia Airport screeners found the condoms, and their initial tests showed they contained drugs. Lee was arrested on drug trafficking charges and jailed. Three weeks later, she was released after a lab test backed her story, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday.
Lee filed a federal lawsuit last week against Philadelphia police, seeking damages for pain and suffering, financial loss, and emotional distress. She was arrested Dec. 21, 2003, was held on $500,000 bail, and faced up to 20 years in prison had she been convicted of the drug charges.
''I haven't let myself be angry about what happened, because it would tear me apart," Lee said. ''I'm not sure I can bear to face it. I'm amazed at how naive I was."
Screeners found the condoms filled with powder in her checked luggage shortly before she was to board a plane to Los Angeles. She said she told police they were filled with flour. She said she made them as a joke and would squeeze them to relieve stress.
Police told her a field test indicated that the powder contained opium and cocaine, but a lab test later proved the substance was flour and prosecutors dropped the charges, the Inquirer reported.
(and now... back to the present...)
Woman settles case over flour-filled condoms
January 08, 2007 08:58 AM ET
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters Life!) - A U.S. college student imprisoned for three weeks for trying to take flour-filled condoms onto an airplane has settled her lawsuit against Philadelphia for $180,000, a city spokesman said on Friday.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=&storyid=2007-01-08T125831Z 01 N15304004 RTRUKOC 0 US-CONDOMS.xml&src=nl usoddlyenough
I can see the concept for this movie
Midnight Express meets Dumb & Dumber
Paul :-)Nz
Student sues over mistaken drug bust
By Associated Press > December 30, 2005
PHILADELPHIA When Bryn Mawr College freshman Janet Lee headed for a Christmas trip home two years ago, her luggage contained three condoms filled with flour which she and some friends made as a joke.
Philadelphia Airport screeners found the condoms, and their initial tests showed they contained drugs. Lee was arrested on drug trafficking charges and jailed. Three weeks later, she was released after a lab test backed her story, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday.
Lee filed a federal lawsuit last week against Philadelphia police, seeking damages for pain and suffering, financial loss, and emotional distress. She was arrested Dec. 21, 2003, was held on $500,000 bail, and faced up to 20 years in prison had she been convicted of the drug charges.
''I haven't let myself be angry about what happened, because it would tear me apart," Lee said. ''I'm not sure I can bear to face it. I'm amazed at how naive I was."
Screeners found the condoms filled with powder in her checked luggage shortly before she was to board a plane to Los Angeles. She said she told police they were filled with flour. She said she made them as a joke and would squeeze them to relieve stress.
Police told her a field test indicated that the powder contained opium and cocaine, but a lab test later proved the substance was flour and prosecutors dropped the charges, the Inquirer reported.
(and now... back to the present...)
Woman settles case over flour-filled condoms
January 08, 2007 08:58 AM ET
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters Life!) - A U.S. college student imprisoned for three weeks for trying to take flour-filled condoms onto an airplane has settled her lawsuit against Philadelphia for $180,000, a city spokesman said on Friday.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=&storyid=2007-01-08T125831Z 01 N15304004 RTRUKOC 0 US-CONDOMS.xml&src=nl usoddlyenough
I can see the concept for this movie
Midnight Express meets Dumb & Dumber
Paul :-)Nz
1 2
(flashback) Student sues over mistaken drug bust By Associated Press > December 30, 2005 PHILADELPHIA When Bryn Mawr College ... 0 US-CONDOMS.xml&src=nl usoddlyenough I can see the concept for this movie Midnight Express meets Dumb & Dumber Paul :-)Nz
Oh this is priceless. The next time my niece calls and asks for money, I'll suggest this method as a way to pay her college tuition.
Robin
''I haven't let myself be angry about what happened, because it would tear me apart," Lee said. ''I'm not sure I can bear to face it. I'm amazed at how naive I was."
Freaking idiot. She should be formally charged for wasting the time of airport security. Hopefully the experience forced common sense into her tiny little skull, but I doubt it.
jaybee
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(flashback) Student sues over mistaken drug bust By Associated Press > December 30, 2005 PHILADELPHIA When Bryn Mawr College ... spokesman said on Friday. http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=&storyid=2007-01-08T125831Z 01 N15304004 RTRUKOC 0 US-CONDOMS.xml&src=nl usoddlyenough I can see the concept for this movie
I can see the scene: Desperate mother, drowning in debt, surreptitiously packs flour-filled condoms in her damanding daughter's spring break suitcase to offset college costs.
Robin
(flashback) Student sues over mistaken drug bust I can see the concept for this movie
I can see the scene: Desperate mother, drowning in debt, surreptitiously packs flour-filled condoms in her damanding daughter's spring break suitcase to offset college costs.
Hilarity ensues.
Is there no limit to the utter, utter, utter *** stupidity of people? Mind you, she's probably learned a lesson that no amount of high-priced college education would ever instil in her.
Hercule Platini
Is there no limit to the utter, utter, utter *** stupidity of people? Mind you, she's probably learned a lesson that no amount of high-priced college education would ever instil in her.
You're giving the average person much, MUCH too much credit. After all, she received a settlement out of court, which is pretty much the equivalent of giving her a pat on the back for a job well done. Maybe she can spend it all on Coke and pop rocks to see what happens if she puts $100,000 worth in her mouth at once.
I'm not sure whether the girl did it as a joke on airport security (as the article seemed to imply) or as a stress-relieving gag between college students (as other articles I read mentioned), but you'd have to be one vacuous airhead not to realize that condoms filled with flour might cause an uproar in an airport. There comes a point where being an idiot comports disadvantages, and being pulled aside, delayed and fined certainly should be one of those. Next time maybe she can be accompanied by an adult.
jaybee
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Rent-a-cops are the worst. I've heard a story about airport security confiscating an action figure's tiny plastic rifle because they were following instructions to seize all "weapons".
There's no question that the airport security screwed up in falsely detecting drugs. But the girl's little "joke" should be treated just like someone placing a fake call to 911. In nother words, now that she has that nice fat settlement money, she should be fined all of it back.
jaybee
Security workers at philly airport have already allowed people with real contraband to pass through, like guns and knives, but FLOUR that's dangerous. They should be sued. They're as idiotic as she is.
Rent-a-cops are the worst. I've heard a story about airport security confiscating an action figure's tiny plastic rifle because they were following instructions to seize all "weapons".
There's no question that the airport security screwed up in falsely detecting drugs. But the girl's little "joke" should be treated just like someone placing a fake call to 911. In nother words, now that she has that nice fat settlement money, she should be fined all of it back.
jaybee
But the girl's little "joke" should be treated just like someone placing a fake call to 911. In nother words, now that she has that nice fat settlement money, she should be fined all of it back.
Why?
Quite frankly, a few more false alarms might do a good job of keeping security personelle on their toes. (One of the biggest problems with airline security is because 99.99% of people are "clean" security workers have a hard time staying focused enough to catch the people who might actually being doing something wrong.)
While the article does claim she made them as a joke, it's not at all clear that the "joke" in question was a prank to be pulled on TSA or airline employees.
That being said, the woman was locked up and undoubtably faced a high amount of stress as well as substantial legal costs BECAUSE THE POLIE COULDN'T DO A SIMPLE FIELD TEST ACCURATELY.
That's right - the people who are supposed to be keeping us safe tested flour and came back with cocaine and opium.
We're supposed to believe those people are going to keep us safe from explosives?
Plu-ease.
-Ron
If she'd packed the condoms with corn starch instead of flour, she could have claimed to be a foley artist. That's how you make the sound of footsepts in snow. Well, normally with a plastic or cloth bag, but I'm sure a condom would work too.
Caroline
Caroline
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