Las Vegas Crime Round Up: 15 Pounds of Suspected Cocaine at Harry Reid Airport

Posted on: August 26, 2023, 07:38h. 

Last updated on: August 28, 2023, 12:20h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A man was taken off of a plane earlier this week after TSA agents at Harry Reid International Airport found what they described as more than 15 pounds of cocaine in his luggage.

A TSA agent
A TSA agent, pictured above. TSA agents discovered more than 15 pounds of cocaine at Harry Reid Airport. A passenger was charged (Image: Reader’s Digest)

The suspect, Mark Washington, was apprehended on Sunday, Las Vegas police revealed late this week. He was booked on charges of trafficking and transporting a controlled substance, according to Las Vegas TV station KLAS.

The suspected drugs were found in six packages covered in plastic, KLAS reported. The bags were hidden inside clothes in his luggage, the report added. TSA agents and LVMPD officers tested the substance. In all, 15.6 pounds of cocaine were found, according to reports from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Washington was on a plane that he boarded in Las Vegas. The flight had not yet departed when TSA agents took him into custody. The late-night flight was heading to Cleveland, Ohio.

When interrogated by a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officer, Washington claimed he had no knowledge of illegal drugs in his luggage. He further claimed a friend packed his suitcase, according to an arrest report.

He was placed in Clark County Detention Center. Online jail records on Saturday do not list him as being incarcerated. He is scheduled to appear in local court on Monday.

Court Orders Psychological Evaluation

The Las Vegas man who allegedly killed a woman and kept her body in a closet for over two months will be evaluated by mental health professionals. Last week, a local judge ordered that George Bone, 31, be examined.

The health professionals will determine if he can assist in his own defense and understand the charges against him.

Bone allegedly strangled his girlfriend on May 4 and placed her corpse in a bedroom closet. A cooler was pushed against the closet door. That way, the alleged killer would know if she was resurrected when she tried to open the door, police revealed.

The victim was identified as Beverly Ma. Her decaying body was discovered in the upstairs closet at the Railroad River Avenue residence. Cops found the corpse during a check on her welfare after someone called them to say Ma’s body was in the closet.

Bone claimed Ma died after a suicide, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. He ordered items from Amazon using Ma’s account and money following her death, police said.

Ma and Bone had met while attending high school. They remained friends over the years, and the two began living together last summer.

Bone was charged on July 27 with open murder and failing to register as a sex offender, according to police. He remains at the Clark County Detention Center as of Saturday. No bail was set. He is scheduled to appear in local court next month.