Captured!
30 kilos of coke found in truck —
driver heads for the hills
Felipe Lopez exits an ambulance following a medical evaluation near the Manualito Chapter House after his arrest for flee the scene of an accident. Lopez is also suspected to have been carying 30 kilograms of cocaine and will be charged accordingly after a warrent to search his tractor tailer is carried out. Street value for the 30 kilograms of cocaine would fetch over a million dollars. [Photo by Daniel Zollinger / Independent]

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

MANUELITO — Authorities searched the vast hills of Manuelito Thursday, for the driver of an abandoned commercial vehicle with 30 kilograms of cocaine inside.

The illegal drugs have an estimated street value of more than $1 million, according to police.

An intense, multiple-agency law enforcement search resulted in the capture of suspected drug smuggler Felipe Lopez. He was hiding in the remote landscape just off New Mexico Highway 118, Big Rock Road and Hunters Point Road.

Lopez abandoned his 2000 Freightliner in a ditch just off Interstate Highway 40 near mile marker 8, Sgt. Andrew Tingwall, a spokesman for the New Mexico State Police, said.

Officer James Smid, of the Motor Transportation Division, discovered the drugs while conducting a routine welfare check of the vehicle early Thursday morning. It had reportedly “jack-knifed” off the roadway.

After Lopez’s disappearance, 9-1-1 operators received reports of an unidentified man who was “knocking on doors” of several Manuelito residences. Another commercial vehicle driver also reported being approached by a suspected panhandler who was wearing eight cell phones.

Police launched a massive search and checked area schools to make sure they were secure. Finding no suspicious people, officers concentrated their search to the rugged canyons and cliffs north of the highway. “We believe this could be the driver,” Tingwall said before Lopez’s apprehension at about 11:30 a.m. by a lone officer.

Lopez will most likely face federal charges in connection with the find. Officers also obtained a warrant to search the commercial vehicle for additional evidence related to the case. Drug Enforcement Agency officials will most likely become involved in the investigation.

Tingwall had no additional information about the incident as of 6 p.m. Thursday.

Lt. George Justice, of the Middle Rio Grande Valley Taskforce, referred all comment about the situation to the New Mexico State Police.

“At this point, we are assisting state police with a trafficking investigation,” Justice said.

Lt. Richard Baca, of the local port of entry, was not immediately available for comment as of Thursday afternoon.

McKinley County sheriff’s deputies and tribal police also participated in the search.

Officials opted to temporarily lock down the Manuelito preschool as a precaution during the situation.

Friday
January 25, 2008
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