The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Traffic stop yields nearly 500 lbs. of pot
By Edward Freundl, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: December 6, 2007
A Michigan State Police trooper making a routine traffic stop on I-94 last week interrupted the delivery of $600,000 worth of marijuana.
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According to police and published reports, the trooper stopped the eastbound Chevrolet Uplander near the Pierce Road exit outside Chelsea at about 2:30 p.m. Nov. 26.
As the trooper approached the rented minivan with Virginia license plates, he smelled a strong, distinctive odor of marijuana.
That led to the discovery of 493 pounds of marijuana and the arrest of a 26-year-old Detroit man and a 44-year-old West Virginia woman.
"As the officer approached the car, they smelled the marijuana. It's hard to mask the scent of that much marijuana," said Sgt. Mario Gonzales of the Michigan State Police Hometown Security Team.
"They were pulled over for following too close behind other vehicles," Gonzales said.
"The officer was just going to tell them to leave more room or they'd be in an accident."
The trooper asked the driver and passenger to step out of the vehicle, and they offered differing accounts of their destination.
Aided by a narcotics detection dog, police searched the vehicle and found the drugs wrapped in bundles packed inside black bags and covered with blankets.
The entire haul has an estimated street value of about $600,000, said Lt. Garth Burnside, head of the Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics Enforcement Team (LAWNET).
"Based on our investigation, the drugs were from New Mexico and were eastbound" to an unknown destination, Burnside said.
Officials said each bag in the vehicle contained three or four bundles of marijuana each clearly labeled with its weight and neatly wrapped in clear cellophane and again in contact paper.
Police are seeking charges against the suspects for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
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