A group of baggage handlers are among fourteen people charged with running a scheme to smuggle marijuana around the US.

Fourteen people, including three baggage handlers, have been charged as part of a conspiracy to smuggle marijuana, AFP reports.

The group are now charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of the drug.

Three of those accused are baggage handlers at Oakland International Airport in California. The trio allegedly smuggled the drugs in carry on luggage, as they were able to bypass security checks on entering the airport.

Once past security checks the airport staff could pass the bags to passengers awaiting outbound flights and who had already passed through security and would act as couriers. The drugs would then be sold in the passenger’s destination city. One baggage handler also smuggled the drugs as cargo.

The Justice Department says the operation has been underway since as early as July 2012.

Nine of the arrests were made in San Francisco and Arkansas. Three of the accused are still on the run, while two are already serving prison sentences for marijuana related offences.

The charges carry a potential sentence of 40 years in prison, and a $5m fine, and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.