gearjammer
jammer
here is another example of why we need to stop the crossborder program it doesn't say so in this article but in 1989 the driver was arrested and deported to Mexico so while the say he lives in Ca. he is there illegally.
Truckers caught hauling $1.5M worth of cocaine on I-40
Truckers caught hauling $1.5M worth of cocaine on I-40
While investigators unloaded the trailer in the rest area, they found 130 pounds of cocaine in the fourth pallet.
While investigators unloaded the trailer in the rest area, they found 130 pounds of cocaine in the fourth pallet.
By HARLOW SUMERFORD
6 News Reporter
JEFFERSON COUNTY (WATE) -- A state trooper who stopped a tractor-trailer on I-40 in Jefferson County Sunday wound up helping seize $1.5 million worth of cocaine.
The truck driver, Mario Melgar, 46, of Moreno Valley, California, and his passenger, Jose Alberto Aquirre, 40, of Bakersfield, California, were transferred to Blount County on a federal detainer.
Melgar and Aquirre were stopped in a 2005 Freightliner on I-40 east around 3:40 p.m., for going 85 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone. The rig was near the mile marker 419 rest area.
Trooper Mark Self asked Melgar for his license, log book and what type of load he was hauling. Melgar said he was taking produce to Bronx, New York.
The log book showed two shipments from California and a shipment from Yuma, Arizona with a 14 hour lay over.
"The drivers stopped for 14 hours in Yuma, Arizona. We all know the southwest of the United States is an area where a lot of drugs come across the southern border as well as the west coast where the load originated," says Lt. Mike Higgs with the Highway Patrol.
The trooper was suspicious of Melgar, who was violating the 11 hour driving time, so he contacted the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. Deputy Steve Arnold and his K-9 responded.
The dog alerted for drugs on the back of the trailer shortly after a driver's license check showed Melgar had prior drug possession arrests. He had also been deported to Mexico in 1998.
Melgar told investigators there were no drugs in the trailer and agreed to a search. But Aquirre started acting nervous and said they were hauling drugs.
While investigators unloaded the trailer in the rest area, they found 130 pounds of cocaine in the fourth pallet.
"They tried to mask it. It was in produce, stuck in the middle of the produce. The dog alerted and the whole set of circumstances, but it is just a drop in the bucket of what is going on up and down the interstate," says Jefferson County Sheriff David Davenport.
The drugs are worth an estimated value of $1.5 million on the street.
The DEA will bring charges in the case in federal court.
Truckers caught hauling $1.5M worth of cocaine on I-40
Truckers caught hauling $1.5M worth of cocaine on I-40
While investigators unloaded the trailer in the rest area, they found 130 pounds of cocaine in the fourth pallet.
While investigators unloaded the trailer in the rest area, they found 130 pounds of cocaine in the fourth pallet.
By HARLOW SUMERFORD
6 News Reporter
JEFFERSON COUNTY (WATE) -- A state trooper who stopped a tractor-trailer on I-40 in Jefferson County Sunday wound up helping seize $1.5 million worth of cocaine.
The truck driver, Mario Melgar, 46, of Moreno Valley, California, and his passenger, Jose Alberto Aquirre, 40, of Bakersfield, California, were transferred to Blount County on a federal detainer.
Melgar and Aquirre were stopped in a 2005 Freightliner on I-40 east around 3:40 p.m., for going 85 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone. The rig was near the mile marker 419 rest area.
Trooper Mark Self asked Melgar for his license, log book and what type of load he was hauling. Melgar said he was taking produce to Bronx, New York.
The log book showed two shipments from California and a shipment from Yuma, Arizona with a 14 hour lay over.
"The drivers stopped for 14 hours in Yuma, Arizona. We all know the southwest of the United States is an area where a lot of drugs come across the southern border as well as the west coast where the load originated," says Lt. Mike Higgs with the Highway Patrol.
The trooper was suspicious of Melgar, who was violating the 11 hour driving time, so he contacted the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. Deputy Steve Arnold and his K-9 responded.
The dog alerted for drugs on the back of the trailer shortly after a driver's license check showed Melgar had prior drug possession arrests. He had also been deported to Mexico in 1998.
Melgar told investigators there were no drugs in the trailer and agreed to a search. But Aquirre started acting nervous and said they were hauling drugs.
While investigators unloaded the trailer in the rest area, they found 130 pounds of cocaine in the fourth pallet.
"They tried to mask it. It was in produce, stuck in the middle of the produce. The dog alerted and the whole set of circumstances, but it is just a drop in the bucket of what is going on up and down the interstate," says Jefferson County Sheriff David Davenport.
The drugs are worth an estimated value of $1.5 million on the street.
The DEA will bring charges in the case in federal court.
