Midwest Freelancer archive article
Traffic stop leads to drug bust
(Published Tuesday, March 7, 2006)
By Chris Post/Midwest Freelancer
A traffic stop last week has led to felony drug charges for a California man smuggling cocaine across Missouri.
At approximately 1:15 a.m. on March 2, Rolondo C. Vieyra, 26, of Garden Grove, Calif., was making his way through Jasper County when a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper saw him commit a lane violation.
The trooper stopped the eastbound Nissan Pathfinder on Interstate 44 at the 24-mile marker.
The officer became suspiscious while talking with Vieyra. Although Vieyra was from California, the SUV was licensed in North Carolina. He also told police he was not the owner of the vehicle and did not know the owner.
After consent to search the vehicle was granted, an officer with the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene with a K-9 to assist in the search.
The K-9 alerted on a large aftermarket stereo speaker in the cargo area of the vehicle. The stereo speaker box contained a hidden compartment, which was opened by a hydraulically controlled door. Inside the hidden compartment the trooper found 20 kilos of cocaine.
Vieyra was arrested for second degree drug trafficking, a class A felony that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
By Chris Post/Midwest Freelancer
A traffic stop last week has led to felony drug charges for a California man smuggling cocaine across Missouri.
At approximately 1:15 a.m. on March 2, Rolondo C. Vieyra, 26, of Garden Grove, Calif., was making his way through Jasper County when a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper saw him commit a lane violation.
The trooper stopped the eastbound Nissan Pathfinder on Interstate 44 at the 24-mile marker.
The officer became suspiscious while talking with Vieyra. Although Vieyra was from California, the SUV was licensed in North Carolina. He also told police he was not the owner of the vehicle and did not know the owner.
After consent to search the vehicle was granted, an officer with the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene with a K-9 to assist in the search.
The K-9 alerted on a large aftermarket stereo speaker in the cargo area of the vehicle. The stereo speaker box contained a hidden compartment, which was opened by a hydraulically controlled door. Inside the hidden compartment the trooper found 20 kilos of cocaine.
Vieyra was arrested for second degree drug trafficking, a class A felony that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.