Ohio Highway Patrol troopers seized more than 100 pounds of cocaine during a March 22 traffic stop in Madison County, leading to federal charges against an Arizona woman.
The traffic stop happened about 1:30 p.m. March 22 after a trooper spotted a rented box truck headed east on Interstate 70. The Highway Patrol said that the truck made an unsafe lane change and was driving without headlights on in a rainstorm and following the vehicle in front of it too closely.
The female driver “exhibited a high level of nervous behavior,” troopers said.
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A drug-sniffing canine was brought to the scene and alerted to the vehicle, giving troopers probable cause to search the truck, according to the Highway Patrol. Troopers found 110 pounds, or more than 58 kilograms, of suspected cocaine that had been wrapped into 50 individual packages, the Highway Patrol said.
Some of the packages were wrapped with plastic and tape and several were vacuum-sealed, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court.
The street value of the drugs is estimated to be about $1.75 million.
The driver of the truck, a 27-year-old woman from the Tucson area, told investigators she would have been paid $50,000 for transporting the drugs, according to court documents. She said that she tried to conceal the drugs in the truck by buying furniture to make it look like she was moving.
The woman is charged with possession with intent to distribute a detectable amount of cocaine, according to court records. She is currently being held in the Franklin County jail.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio state troopers find 60 kilos of cocaine during traffic stop
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