LITTLE ROCK (8-1)
For the
second time within two weeks, officers
from the Arkansas Highway Police Division (AHP) of the
Arkansas State Highway
and Transportation Department (AHTD) have uncovered a significant shipment of
illegal drugs, according to AHP Chief Ron Burks.
On
Wednesday, July 30, an eastbound tractor-trailer rig was stopped on Interstate
40 in
Crittenden
County
near
West Memphis
. During a safety inspection of the
truck, officers from the Arkansas Highway Police discovered 53 bundles of
cocaine weighing approximately 116 pounds with a street value estimated at over
$1.3 million.
The driver was
identified as Joaquin Lopez, age 60, of
Vinton
,
TX
. It is believed the truck,
transporting a load of clothing, was traveling from
California
to the
New York City
/
New Jersey
area. Lopez was arrested at the
scene for Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver.
He is being held at the
Crittenden
County
Detention
Center
and is scheduled for arraignment in West Memphis District Court on Friday,
August 1, 2008.
Less than two weeks ago, on July 18th, AHP officers uncovered
an estimated 440 pounds of cocaine in a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 40 in
Alma
. The street value of the drugs in
that arrest was estimated at $4 million. It
was one of the largest discoveries of illicit drugs in the history of the
agency.
“Our Highway
Po
lice are to be commended for their efforts,” stated Burks.
“O
ur
officers receive special training in drug intervention.
It pays off when they are on the job and encounter situations such as
this.”
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