HancockCountyRelief

Drug Bust

Deputies seize $434K in drugs in traffic stop
By ELLIS C. CUEVAS
Feb 9, 2007, 17:32

Hancock County Narcotics Division Lt. Jimmy Esposito and K-9 Dax seized 11 pounds of cocaine and 154 pounds of marijuana following a traffic violation stop of a bus on Interstate 10 early Wednesday morning, Sheriff Steve Garber reports.
"During a routine patrol, Lt. Esposito stopped a Tornado Bus Line bus for a traffic violation near mile marker 19 on Interstate 10. Esposito was given permission to search the luggage area of the bus by the bus operator. Dax alerted on two large traveler bags, with an estimated value of illegal drugs at $434,000," Narcotic Division Director Major Matt Karl said. "The two bags contained the 154 pounds of marijuana and the 11 pounds of pure cocaine in four packages. Estimated street value of marijuana in the state is $1,000 a pound, while cocaine is over $1,200 an ounce."
There were no arrests, as no one on the bus claimed ownership. The case is still under investigation, according to Karl.
Karl did report that during the past year his department has confiscated some 500 pounds of marijuana from Tornado Bus Line buses.
Garber stated, "Since our Narcotic Division now has six agents plus a director, we have agents on duty around the clock, every day of the week."
The drugs were delivered to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics in Jackson Wednesday to be destroyed.

© 2005 Bay St. Louis Newspapers, Inc.

Labels: Article, bay st louis, drugs, hancock county

posted by Leslie @ 2/09/2007 03:50:00 PM