Entertainment fans in Houston are watching as rapper 2 Chainz faces drug charges for felony possession of a controlled substance stemming from an incident on June 11, 2013, at LAX when he was reportedly transporting codeine, one of the main ingredients in a homemade drug called sizzurp. The drug is created by mixing strong cough syrup with a soft drink but can be up to 25 times as strong as prescription-strength cough syrup. The powerful drink is referenced in the songs of Southern rap artists.
The 36-year-old rapper was on a flight scheduled to leave LA but taken off the plane. He was detained after a search of his checked baggage by Transportation Security Administration agents who uncovered the substance along with marijuana. TSA then contacted airport police for further action and the filing of the drug charges. He was subsequently transported to the booking facility for the Los Angeles Police Department and later released after the payment of $10,000 in bail. Two days before the incident, he was allegedly the victim of a robbery in San Francisco, but it was not known if the incident was connected to his arrest.
The U.S. Constitution protects people from illegal searches and seizures. In order to conduct a search, the authorities need to have justification, which they must prove is legitimate.
A criminal defense attorney might be able to ensure that a client’s rights are protected during a search and seizure. When authorities overstep their boundaries and conduct a questionable search, a judge could rule that the case should be dismissed.
Source: Los Angeles Times, “Rapper 2 Chainz arrested at LAX with marijuana, ‘purple drank’,” Samantha Schaefer, June 13, 2013
Source: Los Angeles Times, “Rapper 2 Chainz charged with packing drug used in ‘sizzurp’ at LAX“, Richard Winton, April 03, 2014
