Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton faced a brief detention on Tuesday at a Bahamian airport, suspected of possessing a “very small amount of marijuana,” according to his attorney, Devard Francis.
Ayton, a native of the Bahamas and a member of their men’s national team, was held at Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau. Francis clarified that the cannabis was found in someone else’s bag, and Ayton was quickly released after a short investigation.
“The investigators determined that the actual negligible quantity of marijuana was not in Deandre’s bag, but they still conducted their inquiries, and he was released expeditiously,” Francis told Reuters in a statement.
Under the latest NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), players are no longer tested for marijuana, and it has been removed from the list of banned substances. However, marijuana remains illegal in the Bahamas.
The 27-year-old Ayton is currently in his inaugural season with the Lakers, who are set to resume play after the All-Star break this Friday at home against the LA Clippers.