When three Atlanta residents arrived back home from California on Wednesday, they had several people waiting for their plane to land at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Those people were GBI agents.
The three were arrested after being accused of smuggling 80 pounds of high-grade marijuana in suitcases as well as more than $11,000 and a stolen gun, Channel 2 Action News reported. The street value of the drugs is estimated at more than $500,000.
GBI Special Agent in Charge Ken Howard told Channel 2 that the marijuana was originally purchased in California, and they’re unsure whether Atlanta was the final destination for the drugs.
“Some of the marijuana would be purchased legally at dispensaries through diversion contracts, and some would be purchased in the black market,” Howard said.
He told the news station this bust has been in the works for several months, and the three suspects have been on the radar of federal investigators.
Wytavious Spencer, 27, is one of the suspects, but the names of the other two have not been provided. Additional arrests are expected in this investigation.
This is the latest in a string of high-profile drug busts at the Atlanta airport.
Last month, three suspects were arrested after nearly 100 pounds of marijuana and THC vape pens were seized, AJC.com previously reported.
RELATED: 97 pounds of marijuana seized, 3 arrested at Atlanta airport
In February, four men on a flight from Las Vegas were arrested after authorities discovered 224 pounds of pot in their suitcases.
RELATED: 224 pounds of marijuana seized at Atlanta airport; 4 arrested
Two weeks later, a woman was sent back to Honduras after customs officials discovered nearly three pounds of cocaine hidden inside decorative metal figurines in her bags. The drugs were valued at about $40,000.
MORE: Cocaine hidden inside Honduran figurines seized at Atlanta airport
And last summer, authorities uncovered a cocaine smuggling operation in which passengers allegedly stashed the drug inside sealed pineapple cans. About 4 kilograms of cocaine was seized, and it led to the indictment of eight suspects believed to have smuggled hundreds of pounds of the drug from Costa Rica during 90 trips to Atlanta.
Also: Cocaine found in canned fruit at Atlanta airport; feds bust major drug operation
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