The third drug bust in as many weeks at a truck weigh station along I-40 eastbound in Alma, Arkansas continues a trend that stretches back six months. There have been five major drug busts at the Alma weigh station in six months. Three drug seizures involving marijuana being transported in tractor trailers have occurred from April 22 to May 6.
The first of the most recent string of three drug seizures occurred on Sunday, April 22. A truck driver failed to stop at the Alma weigh station when the Arkansas Highway Police (the unit responsible for upholding the regulations of the Arkansas Department of Transportation) tried to get them to stop for a routine vehicle safety and weight inspection. The Arkansas police were able to stop the truck and instructed the driver to go back to the weigh station, where they conducted the inspection. The officers then got consent to search the vehicle, and when they did they found 232 pounds of marijuana. The truck was traveling from California to Tampa, Florida. The driver was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. They had a passenger who was also arrested.
The second of the most recent three drug busts happened on the night of April 30. The Arkansas Highway Police were conducting a safety inspection on a commercial truck. It was a routine inspection, and the officers had reason to believe that some of the cargo was not legitimate. The driver gave consent for police to search the vehicle, and the police found over 340 pounds of marijuana and 2,340 units of cannabis oil. The drugs have an estimated value of $2.2 million. The driver was transported to the Crawford County Detention Facility. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, and having no record of duty status. The truck was headed for Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The last of the latest string of three busts occurred on May 6. According to police, they were conducting a routine safety inspection at the Alma weigh station. They discovered about 200 pounds of cannabis in the sleeper berth of a commercial vehicle. Officials said that the driver is being held at the Crawford County Detention Center and that he is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia.
That was the latest of five major drug seizures to take place at the Alma weigh station along I-40 eastbound in the past six months. The weigh station is located in Crawford County, Arkansas. Police have seized 1,200 pounds of marijuana in addition to 1,000 vials of cannabis oil in these five drug busts.
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Sources:
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/may/02/more-300-pounds-marijuana-found-during-inspection-/