Airlines & Airports Rich Thomaselli May 03, 2019

Well, he was caught. Let’s remember that.

But when NBA star D’Angelo Russell of the Brooklyn Nets was cited for marijuana possession at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday, there seemed to be less interest in his crime – Russell was summoned for possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana and later released – and more interest in where the weed was found and how he did it.

Russell tried to hide the drug in a “secret compartment” in a can of Arizona Iced Tea.

Confused? You may not be alone.

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As smugglers try to get savvier, ‘stash cans’ or ‘diversion safe cans’ are becoming more and more popular. These cans have a hidden compartment with a false bottom in which you can place money or keys or documents.

Or, you know, marijuana or pills or cocaine.

And it’s not just Arizona Iced Tea.

Soda cans, canned vegetables, water bottles, cigarette lighters, jars of peanut butter, shaving cream, coffee cans, cans of Pringles potato chips, even cans of WD-40 spray have been made and sold as diversion safe cans.

Now, trying to bring marijuana through an airport terminal is illegal, even in states where marijuana has been legalized. Russell’s mistake was trying to bring it through TSA security, and the can was likely more than the 3.4-ounce restriction for liquids in a carry-on.

To get around that, passengers are using everyday items like a hairbrush or even this 1.8-ounce stick of deodorant to slip past security. Some have even used a book with a special diversion safe space.

Nonetheless, the experts in this sort of thing suggest you skip the carry-on route no matter how well concealed it is and hide it in your checked bag, which is slightly less scrutinized.

Or you could, you know, comply with the law and not fly with it.

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