Airport amnesty boxes are meant for leaving things, not taking them. The blue boxes found in several airports in the country are intended to be safe spots to encourage travelers to drop their drugs before boarding a flight. They’re not exactly a “trash to treasure” box where everything is up for grabs. One traveler, however, decided to do a little amnesty box shopping.
NBC Chicago reports that on Wednesday, a man left marijuana in one of the boxes at Chicago’s Midway Airport, but when police later inspected the box, they found the weed missing. According to police, a man reached into the box at around 6:00 PM that same day and removed an unknown object. It’s believed that the man had just disembarked his flight and decided to give himself a little arrival gift before leaving the airport. The box was supposed to be locked to prevent theft.
Anthony Guglielmi, Chicago Police Spokesman, said of the boxes, “Tampering with them, or attempting to remove anything placed inside, is a crime, and detectives are investigating this matter. In the meantime, new, permanent theft prevention boxes are expected to replace the temporary ones in the coming weeks, making them more secure and preventing anyone from further accessing materials dropped inside.”
The boxes were installed at the airport shortly after Illinois legalized cannabis on January 1, 2020.