HAMMOND, Louisiana (AP) — Two people were in custody, one in Louisiana and one in Mississippi Monday, after Louisiana State Police said troopers found nearly 300 pounds of marijuana in the back of a man’s car following a traffic stop near Hammond.
Authorities stopped Carlos Davis, 26, of Greenwood, Mississippi, on Interstate 12 eastbound near its intersection with Interstate 55 for a traffic violation about 9 a.m. Sunday.
Sgt. Nick Manale said Davis refused consent to search the car, so troopers called out a police dog from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office. The dog alerted troopers to the presence of drugs. Troopers then found the marijuana, with an estimated street value of $250,000, in the back seat and rear cargo area of the 2015 Mazda CX-5.
Davis was booked with one count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. It was not immediately known if he was in jail or whether he has an attorney.
Manale said troopers then worked with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics deliver drugs to a home in Jackson, Mississippi, where Tavarus Williams, 27, of Clinton, Mississippi, was arrested on a charge of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. It was not immediately known if Williams remained in custody or had an attorney.
MBN interim director Sam Owens, in a news release, said Williams was arrested after he tried to take delivery of the illegal drugs. Agents also seized a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun from Williams, Owens said.
