California socialite Lisette Lee, who told authorities she is the heiress to the Samsung fortune, was traveling with a bodyguard on a private jet and was arrested at an Ohio airport with 506 pounds of marijuana stashed in 13 suitcases. Read more on Lisette Lee’s arrest below.
Lisette Lee, her bodyguard, and two personal assistants were taken into custody on Monday after the DEA received a tip that a 28 year-old woman was traveling with a large amount of luggage.
The chartered plane landed in Columbus and one of Lee’s assistants and her bodyguard helped baggage workers unload the luggage. It took two people to carry some of the larger suitcases which were loaded with bricks of marijuana.
Authorities confiscated Lee’s three cell phones, cocaine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and drug ledgers that detailed around $300,000 in transactions.
Lisette Lee was charged with conspiracy and possession of drugs with the intent to distribute. Lisette is being held without bail pending a Friday hearing.
Lee’s bodyguard and two personal assistants were released pending possible indictments.
Lee told investigators that she chartered the plane from Van Nuys, Calif., to Columbus to visit her boyfriend and bring equipment to a horse farm.
She said a friend paid her $60,000 to take more than a dozen suitcases from Los Angeles to an unattended hotel room in Columbus, stay for a few days and then bring back fewer pieces of luggage, authorities said.
Lee later told investigators that she and her entourage knew the horse story was phony and that they were likely involved with “weapons and money laundering or something,” authorities wrote in court papers.
If convicted, Lee could face up to 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $2 million.
