A former AirTran employee is going to federal prison after being caught trying to smuggle contraband onto an Atlanta flight.
Rasondo Norris, 30, attempted to use his credentials to bypass airport security to bring backpacks of cocaine, and a machine gun, onto a flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport last May. Norris pleaded guilty to the charges in October and was sentenced Tuesday.
According to federal prosecutors, Norris worked as a baggage handler for AirTran. In May a federal agent learned that, for a fee, Norris would help people get items onto aircraft by using his badge to circumvent the TSA.
Norris did the same thing for the agent on May 30, then again on June 5. On May 30 he was told the backpack contained drug proceeds totaling $500,000. In June the backpack was represented to contain a Mac-11 machine gun.
The agent gave Norris a backpack on May 23, 2013, saying it contained cocaine. Norris then used his credentials to get around security and gave the backpack to the agent on the other side of the checkpoint.
The agent says he paid Norris between $600 and $800 to get through security.
The Stone Mountain man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.