I had taken a job on a ranch in Central America drawing the plats and brochures for the development of the ranch into a resort. I had been warned by a mutual acquaintance that the owner was a cop of some kind for the US government so I was always cool around everybody. I would buy discretely from the nearby village and would jump on my horse and ride off when ever I wanted to smoke. I had no duties but the art and had the run of the place so if the hands were in one place I'd smoke in any other place. It was a big ranch. I was there four months and had a trip back to the states the following week.
One day I was asked to go to the airport and pick up a mechanic that the owner had hired in the states to put some broken down equipment in order. I didn't like the guy after just a few minutes of talking with him so when he asked me if I wanted to get high I said no thanks. He took out a fancy carved box the size of a cigar box and pulled out a joint. He was asked, as was I when I came down, to carry a box of .22 shells for the foreman and told not to worry about customs because putting the name of the ranch as destination got a pass on baggage inspection so he didn't even hide the box and walked it through.
The very first thing the guy did was set the box on the work bench in the barn and proceed to get the local ranch hands stoned. A big mistake They ran right to the foreman and told him that they got really stoned with the new guy and were taking the afternoon off.
The owner was due in from the States the next day and of course that night at dinner, went over all the items that the foreman had briefed him on including the mechanic who he saved for last. All he said to him as he pulled his wallet and flashed his little gold badge, was "you are out of here on tomorrows flight. I don't allow drugs on my finca."
That meant he was going to be on the same flight as me and my future wife. The owner called me aside the next morning as we got ready to go to the airport and warned me to separate ourselves from this guy as soon as we got to the airport and keep away from him on the flight and especially at Miami.
So as soon as we got to the airport my friend and I ducked into the coffee shop while the fool went to the bar and got half snockered. It was easy to avoid him after that. I waited til the last minute to check in because we were making trips walking down by where the missile pits were along the entry road. As long as we didn't cross the line, the guards just ignored us as we made like we were just looking at the ground to air array from about 100 feet, and I was getting wasted. When it came time to board, I ate the last joint I had brought as well as the last roach so I knew I'd be plenty toasted all the way to Miami and through the customs and immigration process and had weed waiting when we were picked up.
After the uneventful flight, I decided to hold back and watch the show that was in store for this guy. So I got in the same line some ways behind him. Sure enough. They started out by checking every bag. I didn't see the box appear at all. But I was so stoned, I started laughing. With each bag they checked I laughed harder. My friend didn't know why I was laughing, but when I'd try to get control she would spur me into more laughter with a funny face from her place in the immigrants line. When they finished with his bags, three officers appeared and escorted him and his bags to a private room. Seeing them escort him, I broke into hysterical laughter that only stoners know and it must have been contagious because my friend in the other line half way across the room, broke out too without knowing what we were laughing at. When it was my turn I was still laughing even though my girl was now out of sight. The official asked me what was so funny, I tried to hold it in but I just laughed harder. I couldn't stop. Then I was shocked out of it, the guy said "ok, you can pass." Without opening my bags.
I thought about it while I waited at the end of the immigrant line. I noticed that the woman at the computer didn't seem to like her job and even scowled at most of the folks she processed After about another hour of watching the scowler, it was my friends turn and as the official typed her passport info into her computer, she lit up in a smile and handed her the passport saying "Have a great stay in the US." I was dumbfounded. What the heck was going on. She later told me that she had heard the owner on the phone that morning mentioning our names to someone. We don't know to this day what he had put into the computer. But I have traveled to many different countries since and have never had a bag opened coming back. I though about taking advantage of this on occasion, then remembered the mechanic who we never saw again.
Edit: Yes, I looked for the box when I got back. But never found it.
