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| 100 pounds of marijuana |
Mobile County Sheriff's deputies arrested a 27-year-old New Mexico man Tuesday after they found more than 100 pounds of marijuana hidden in the false compartment of a pickup truck, Sheriff Sam Cochran said today.
The driver, identified as Osorto Carlos Gaona, was stopped near Grand Bay about 2:16 p.m. Tuesday, Cochran said.
Gaona faces drug conspiracy charges and been turned over to federal authorities, officials said.
Cochran said that the stop was part of the department illegal drug interdiction program.
"They stopped this individual who later turned out to be an illegal immigrant," Cochran said. "Part of that stop was for a traffic offense. He later turned out to be suspicious. After further inquiry there was reason to believe there was a false compartment in the truck.
"They seized the vehicle, bought it to the county garage, and drilled a hole in the bottom of the truck. Once they hit the marijuana, they knew they had found it and they cut it out."
The marijuana was in 73 packages, wrapped in black plastic coated with oily substance that deputies believe is Vaseline. The marijuana was hidden in a separate bed put on top of an existing bed, Cochran said.
Narcotics deputies estimate the street value of the marijuana to be between $60,000 and $80,000.
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