Samantha Ann Nicholas

On January 26, 2026, officers were conducting screening of outbound international luggage at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, in the City of Minneapolis, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota. Officers were using a certified narcotics detection canine to sniff bags going on international flights, and the dog alerted to the presence of controlled substances in two bags, and officers located a total of approximately 26.19 kilograms of a green leafy substance that officers recognized as being consistent with cannabis based on their training and experience.

Officers identified the bags as belonging to Samantha Ann Nicholas [DOB REDACTED]. Officers located Nicholas as she was boarding a flight to London and detained her. In a post-Miranda statement, Nicholas told officers that she was given the bags by a friend, who had purchased Nicholas a one-way ticket to London and asked her to deliver the bags to another individual. The friend told Nicholas that he would purchase her a return flight after she arrived in London.