94 Pounds Of Cocaine Worth $4 million Seized In Marshall

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We hear the phrase, 'during a routine traffic stop...', quite often in the news and when you really think about it, traffic stops are anything but routine. Each traffic stop an officer initiates is unique and will offer its own problems and solutions. This past Sunday, police in Marshall, Texas stopped a vehicle for speeding. What was revealed during the stop was anything but a 'routine traffic stop' because if it were routine, officers wouldn't have discovered 43 kilograms of cocaine stashed away in the semi.

Marshall Police initiated the stop around 3:30 p.m. on South East End Blvd. because the driver was speeding. Marshall Police Chief Cliff Carruth tells KETK,

During that traffic stop, they developed probable cause that there was more going on."

Once they had probable cause to search the truck, police searched the vehicle and found 39 plastic-wrapped bundles of cocaine that have an approximate street value of around $4 million.

39 packages of cocaine which weighed out to approximately 43 kilos, if you multiply that out that’s about 94 pounds of cocaine. - Marshall Police Chief Cliff Carruth

This traffic stop was anything but a 'routine traffic stop'. Marshall Police arrested 34-year-old Ariel Martinez of Elgin, Illinois, and booked him into the Harrison County Jail and charged him with possession of a controlled substance in penalty group 1/1 B measuring greater than or equal to 400 grams (Marshall Messenger). Martinez was released from jail after posting a $100,000 bond.

The Marshall Police and Harrison County Sheriff's Office are still investigating this case and feel that it is part of a larger operation. Still, they were able to seize part of that operation from reaching its final destination.

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