(Micheal)Vick In Airport Water Bottle Incident

The smoking gun ^ | January 18, 2007 | NA

[redrunner]

JANUARY 18--Miami police are investigating NFL star Michael Vick after airport screeners yesterday seized a water bottle from him at a security checkpoint and later discovered that the bottle included a "concealed compartment" that appeared to contain a small amount of marijuana. According to a Miami-Dade Police Department report, a copy of which you'll find below, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback was "reluctant to turn over his water bottle during the screening process" at Miami International Airport (the athlete was booked on an AirTran flight to Atlanta). Vick subsequently relinquished the 20-ounce Aquafina bottle, which was placed in a recycling bin by a Transportation Security Administration screener. Suspicious as to why Vick hesitated in handing over the bottle, TSA screener Gertrude Joseph retrieved the bottle, notified her supervisor, and brought the item to the TSA operations center. There, officials discovered that the bottle's label "contained a seam which separated the top and the bottom of the bottle. Both ends were sealed by clear partitions and what appeared to be a silicone sealant." The concealed compartment, the report notes, contained "a small amount of dark particulate and a pungent aroma closely associated with Marijuana." It appears that Vick had departed to Atlanta before the screeners had finished analyzing his water bottle, which was transported to the Miami-Dade Police Department lab for analysis. Following the 2002 arrests of members of a Miami-based Ketamine ring, Drug Enforcement Administration agents pointed out a "new smuggling trick" being used by traffickers: Aquafina water bottles outfitted with "a hidden compartment for drugs." Click here to view a DEA evidence photo showing three of the seized Aquafina bottles. The retrofitted $15 bottle can now be found for sale online, where it is advertised as a "diversion safe."

[redrunner]

That's the last straw... I'm sending back my 9 year olds replica Vick jersey...

[trumandogz]

What an idiot!

[llevrok]

same method the terrorists used in London with explosives in water bottles

So now I have to buy and drink a 5th of gin every where I go rather than take along a more respectible 8 oz. flask.

[Sopater]

[ml/nj]

This makes no sense at all. There is no need to conceal marijuana when going through an airport security check. You can't take any normal water bottle on a plane anyway as I understand the rules. And Vick is undoubtedly a frequent flier. Something sticks here.

ML/NJ

[Always Right]

Vick needs to convert to Muslims and sue the airline for racial profiling.

[leapfrog0202]

You actually can now take liquids on the plane as long as they were purchased from an airport vendor INSIDE the screening area.

So maybe he hoped that the screeners would miss his water bottle and he could just hop on the plane with it.

I've flown 6 times over the last 2 months and have never had a problem taking a drink on once I cleared the screening area.

When the whole thing started in the UK about terrorists putting something in liquid they did ban all liquids on the planes in the US, but now have relaxed it somewhat. 1 airport vendor insisted on keeping the cap, but that's all the hassle I've had.

[NonValueAdded]

Most of his flights are probably charter flights and this was one of those rare occasions that he flew commercial. That would explain why he kept the water bottle but not why he chose to smuggle a dark substance in a clear container.