4,000 prescription pills seized in 2 traffic stops in Findlay
9/3/2011FINDLAY — More than 4,000 illegal prescription pills were seized by state troopers during two traffic stops within 24 hours.
The first stop was Thursday about 12:10 a.m. for speeding on U.S. 224, near County Road 300, in Findlay.
The vehicle, which was a rental, had New Jersey plates.
After “criminal indicators” were observed, a patrol drug-sniffing canine was brought in and a search yielded 2,193 Oxycodone pills; 1,399 Xanax pills; and 200 Lortab pills, valued at more than $95,000, according to the State Highway Patrol.
The driver, Rashad Burse, 31, of Ferndale, Mich., is being held in the Hancock County jail on two counts of possession of a controlled substance.
Less than 24 hours later, about 11:40 p.m., troopers stopped a second rental vehicle with Michigan plates for a marked-lanes violation on southbound I-75 in Findlay. Troopers “detected a strong odor of marijuana.”
A search of the vehicle yielded 750 Oxycodone pills and 5.5 grams of marijuana, worth more than $22,000, according to the State Highway Patrol.
The driver, Nakia Pruett, 36, of Detroit, is being held in the Hancock County jail on one charge of possession of a controlled substance.