http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080221/ts_alt_afp/usseniorcrimedrugsoffbeat
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A 72-year-old man was arrested in the US state of Maryland after more than a million dollars' worth of marijuana was found in his car by a police officer who was helping him with his bags, police said Thursday.
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The arresting officer had seen the suspect back his car into another vehicle outside a roadside convenience store in New Carrollton, Maryland, the town's police chief, David Rice, told AFP.
"The officer ran a check on the driver and found out his license was suspended," Rice said.
He then asked the driver if he could help him to get items out of the car before it was impounded, Rice said.
The man, whom Rice identified as New York City resident Rondell Cole, asked the policeman "to pop the trunk, and when he did, the man grabbed this really big duffel bag and asked the officer if he could grab the other one."
According to chief of police Rice, the officer was struck by the strong odors emanating from the bag.
A canine unit was called in "and when the dog hit on it, we opened the bag and thought, oh wow," said Rice.
Inside the two bags were several bales of marijuana, each weighing around 25 pounds (11 kilograms), Rice said.
The haul, which has an estimated street value of around 1.3 million dollars, was one of the biggest in Maryland, Rice said.
One of the eight bales seized in the bust was marked with the number 1 and another with the number 286.
"There are a lot of bales missing," Rice said.
A van that Cole was following drove off when the elderly man was stopped by police.
Cole said he had been paid 500 dollars to follow the van and drive the two bags and their illicit content from New York to North Carolina -- around 500 miles (800 kilometers).
He faces charges of possessing drugs, possession with intent to distribute and drug conspiracy charges.
Comments posted on the Internet praised the police for taking the large haul of illegal drugs off the streets, while others pointed out that drug dealers often prey on financially strapped US seniors, offering what they see as easy money in exchange for serving as mules to transport the drugs.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A 72-year-old man was arrested in the US state of Maryland after more than a million dollars' worth of marijuana was found in his car by a police officer who was helping him with his bags, police said Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT
The arresting officer had seen the suspect back his car into another vehicle outside a roadside convenience store in New Carrollton, Maryland, the town's police chief, David Rice, told AFP.
"The officer ran a check on the driver and found out his license was suspended," Rice said.
He then asked the driver if he could help him to get items out of the car before it was impounded, Rice said.
The man, whom Rice identified as New York City resident Rondell Cole, asked the policeman "to pop the trunk, and when he did, the man grabbed this really big duffel bag and asked the officer if he could grab the other one."
According to chief of police Rice, the officer was struck by the strong odors emanating from the bag.
A canine unit was called in "and when the dog hit on it, we opened the bag and thought, oh wow," said Rice.
Inside the two bags were several bales of marijuana, each weighing around 25 pounds (11 kilograms), Rice said.
The haul, which has an estimated street value of around 1.3 million dollars, was one of the biggest in Maryland, Rice said.
One of the eight bales seized in the bust was marked with the number 1 and another with the number 286.
"There are a lot of bales missing," Rice said.
A van that Cole was following drove off when the elderly man was stopped by police.
Cole said he had been paid 500 dollars to follow the van and drive the two bags and their illicit content from New York to North Carolina -- around 500 miles (800 kilometers).
He faces charges of possessing drugs, possession with intent to distribute and drug conspiracy charges.
Comments posted on the Internet praised the police for taking the large haul of illegal drugs off the streets, while others pointed out that drug dealers often prey on financially strapped US seniors, offering what they see as easy money in exchange for serving as mules to transport the drugs.
