Jefferson County Sheriff's Department seizes $12 million in cocaine

JEFFERSON COUNTY, AL  The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department says they have seized $12 million worth of cocaine after a routine traffic stop near the Jefferson County/St. Clair County line.

313 pounds of cocaine

Manfredo Fong

The traffic stop was made last Thursday on Interstate 20. A narcotics K9 alerted deputies to the drugs and a search revealed a hidden compartment with 313 pounds of cocaine.
51-year-old Manfredo Fong, the driver of the truck, has been charged with Trafficking Cocaine.
Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale says it is the largest cocaine seizure in the history of the Jefferson County Highway Safety unit, a task force that has been around since 2005. The unit is made up of sheriff's deputies and Hoover police officers. Hale says he will not pull deputies off of this unit, despite facing a $10 million budget cut due to Jefferson County money problems.
"We are not going to make excuses for not getting the job done and not fighting crime. It's going to force us to look for innovative ways. Like we did back in 2005," Hale said.
Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis says taking that amount of cocaine off the roadways is the key to solving other crimes.
Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey agrees.
"This is a good program. More successful than anyone could dream. I think it would be a travesty for it to go away," Ivey said.