PREBLE COUNTY -- An Arizona man is facing felony drug charges after Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers seized 743 pounds of marijuana, worth an estimated $1,686,610 following a traffic stop in Preble County.
Troopers said they stopped a 2011 Ford F150 pickup, with fictitious U.S. Government registration, for an improper lane change violation on I-70, near milepost 10, at 11:18 a.m. Thursday. Troopers said they observed criminal indicators and a Patrol drug-sniffing canine alerted to the vehicle.
Troopers said they found 36 vacuum-sealed and shrink-wrapped bundles of marijuana, weighing about 743 pounds concealed in the cargo area of the van.
The driver, Isaac Chavez, 37, of Tuscan, Ariz., was incarcerated in the Preble County Jail and charged with possession of marijuana, a second-degree felony, possession of criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony, and fictitious registration, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. If convicted, he could face up to nine years in prison and up to a $12,500 fine.
The OSHP reports this was the second-largest marijuana seizure of 2012. In March, troopers seized 2,500 pounds of marijuana on I-70 in Madison County.
Drug seizures overall have significantly increased this year compared with the record-setting achievements of 2011, OSHP reports. Through October 2012, state troopers seized 151 percent more marijuana and 295 percent more heroin than in 2011.
Troopers said they stopped a 2011 Ford F150 pickup, with fictitious U.S. Government registration, for an improper lane change violation on I-70, near milepost 10, at 11:18 a.m. Thursday. Troopers said they observed criminal indicators and a Patrol drug-sniffing canine alerted to the vehicle.
Troopers said they found 36 vacuum-sealed and shrink-wrapped bundles of marijuana, weighing about 743 pounds concealed in the cargo area of the van.
The driver, Isaac Chavez, 37, of Tuscan, Ariz., was incarcerated in the Preble County Jail and charged with possession of marijuana, a second-degree felony, possession of criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony, and fictitious registration, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. If convicted, he could face up to nine years in prison and up to a $12,500 fine.
The OSHP reports this was the second-largest marijuana seizure of 2012. In March, troopers seized 2,500 pounds of marijuana on I-70 in Madison County.
Drug seizures overall have significantly increased this year compared with the record-setting achievements of 2011, OSHP reports. Through October 2012, state troopers seized 151 percent more marijuana and 295 percent more heroin than in 2011.