$2.5M of cocaine seized during I-75 traffic stop

9/9/2009

MONROE — A routine traffic stop netted the Monroe County Sheriff's Office drugs with an estimated $2.5 million street value, deputies said Tuesday.

Deputy Jeffrey Ellington was conducting traffic enforcement on northbound I-75 in Monroe County near Newport Road about 10:30 a.m. Monday when he stopped a tractor-trailer for possible equipment violations.

The deputy said he called in Deputy Jeremy Peters and his narcotics dog, Mia, after finding several inconsistencies during roadside interviews with the driver and co-driver. Deputies said the dog was sent into the locked trailer and directed officers to the front, where the suspected cocaine was found in a hidden compartment. The drugs weighed 88 pounds.

Maj. David Thompson said neither the driver nor the co-driver was arrested, although the narcotics and semitrailer were seized. The men were transporting a load of industrial wallpaper from Los Angeles to Detroit. The incident remains under investigation.