Law enforcement officers and K-9 units from several counties were involved Wednesday afternoon in a drug bust that yielded more than 550 pounds of cocaine in Franklin County.
Lyon County Sheriff’s Department K-9 unit, Deputy Cory Doudican and Tito, were among those called to the scene of a traffic stop made by a Franklin County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit. The unit was patrolling on Interstate Highway 35 about six miles north of Ottawa when the officer stopped an oversized box van that was traveling toward Kansas City.
According to information from Franklin County Attorney Heather Jones, other agencies that took part in the investigation were from the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Osage County Sheriff’s Office.
The Franklin County deputy obtained consent to search the vehicle, which was taken to Ottawa where it could be examined inside a building. The truck was moved because of inclement weather, Jones said in a news release.
The search yielded bricks of cocaine estimated to weigh more than 562.5 pounds. The cocaine was found in a hidden compartment in the van.
Franklin County Sheriff’s Lieut. Jimmie Dean said this morning that the Drug Enforcement Administration estimated the wholesale value of the 250 kilos of cocaine at $20,000 per kilo, or $5 million total, in the Kansas City area.
Identification is pending on the two suspects who were taken into custody at the Franklin County Detention Center. Dean said that the identification initially provided is believed to be incorrect.
“We’ve got a couple of John Does,” Dean said this morning.
One man carried identification with a Richfield, Minn., home address; the other man is believed to be a Mexican national.
They are being held on suspicion of distribution of cocaine and no drug tax stamp.
create (anonymous) says...
Good job law enforcement folks!!! I would have loved to be able to see the look on the faces of those two druggies when they were stopped. I'll bet they thought that since it was raining so hard that no one would stop them. That is a haul!!!
October 19, 2007 at 5:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
marebear14 (anonymous) says...
Good Job
October 23, 2007 at 8:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )