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Man Carrying Honey, Not Methamphetamine, Jailed for Months


Travelers pass through U.S. Customs and Immigration after using the Cross Border Xpress pedestrian bridge between San Diego and the Tijuana airport on the facility's opening day in Otay Mesa, California, Dec. 9, 2015.
Travelers pass through U.S. Customs and Immigration after using the Cross Border Xpress pedestrian bridge between San Diego and the Tijuana airport on the facility's opening day in Otay Mesa, California, Dec. 9, 2015.

A Maryland man visiting Jamaica decided to bring back some honey from his favorite roadside stand and was jailed for months on the false assumption he was smuggling methamphetamine.

News outlets report Leon Haughton was returning home from a family visit last Christmas when a drug-sniffing dog alerted to his bag at Baltimore's airport. He figures it was the fast-food leftovers he was carrying.

He was arrested and remained jailed despite being granted work release, even after a Maryland state lab, weeks later, found no evidence of drugs in the honey. A follow-up test also was negative.

But because Haughton holds a green-card, it was either jail or potential deportation until his Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer was removed. He spent 82 days behind bars for carrying honey.

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