Targeted in an undercover drug sting, a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of attempting to distribute methamphetamine.
Suspected of helping smuggle narcotics past security checkpoints at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), TSA officer Michael Williams became the subject of an investigation conducted by the FBI, DEA, and Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) in 2020. During the operations, Williams allegedly met with a drug source to exchange methamphetamine in the days prior leading up to his shift at LAX.
Unbeknownst to Williams, he received a package containing fake methamphetamine that he smuggled into LAX in exchange for a total of $8,000 in cash. Recorded on LAX security cameras wearing his TSA uniform prior to the start of his shift, Williams delivered the “methamphetamine” in a backpack to the drug source’s accomplice in the men’s restroom on the secure side of the airport terminal.
The drug source’s accomplice was an undercover federal agent who delivered cash payments to Williams in exchange for the fake meth. On Wednesday, Williams was arrested and charged with attempted distribution of methamphetamine.
If convicted, Williams would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
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