$2.5 million drug bust at I-40 port

A random inspection at the Gallup Port of Entry turned up a stash of cocaine and marijuana inside wooden crates that were being transported on a flatbed truck. The inspection Sunday found 57 pounds of cocaine and 1,400 pounds of marijuana wrapped in cellophane and hidden in the crates. Courtesy photo

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — Motor Transportation Police at the port of entry intercepted more drugs Sunday — 57 pounds of cocaine and 1,400 pounds of marijuana en route from California to Michigan, according to a news release issued Tuesday by N.M. Department of Public Safety Communications Director Peter Olson.

Unlike other recent busts at the Arizona/New Mexico Port of Entry west of Gallup, the goods in this case were stored in wooden crates, placed on a flatbed trailer and covered by a tarp. In other cases, the drugs have been surreptitiously stored inside an enclosed trailer.

Commercial trucks are required to stop at the port of entry for mandatory inspections of safety equipment, license checks and to make sure road taxes are paid. It was during one of these routine stops that police discovered the drugs Sunday morning, according to Olson.

He said the cocaine seized is valued at about $570,000 while the marijuana has an estimated street value of nearly $2 million. The truck driver and passenger, whose names have not been disclosed, are identified as a 41-year-old man from Nevada and a 36-year-old man from California.

Motor Transportation Police at the port of entry confiscated about $1.5 million worth of marijuana on March 11 after finding dope stuffed in spinach cans, stacked on pallets and placed amidst a trailer-full of with fresh produce. In February, Motor Transportation Police seized marijuana and cocaine during two separate inspections altogether valued at about $5 million.