Early in the morning on Friday, Oct. 25, San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office deputies intercepted a significant drug shipment during a routine traffic stop near Lee Turner and Trails End Roads.
The stop, involving a commercial vehicle, led to the discovery of 283.8 pounds of packaged marijuana hidden in the trailer, with an estimated street value of $2.2 million in the northeastern United States, according to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force.
The driver, identified as 54-year-old John Rodriguez, was taken into custody and charged with felony possession of marijuana. A bill of lading found in the vehicle indicated the commercial load was intended for a delivery in the Northeast. Both the 2003 Peterbilt truck and trailer were impounded for further investigation.
San Jacinto County Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace Randy Ellisor set bond for Rodriguez at $600,000, with strict conditions pending trial. Rodriguez is prohibited from leaving Texas or the United States and must surrender his passport. Additionally, he is required to report monthly until his trial date.
Sheriff Greg Capers commended the keen actions of Patrol Lieutenant R. Nash, Deputy Hughes, and Sergeant Saintes in intercepting the shipment, highlighting this incident as yet another example of large-scale drug trafficking in San Jacinto County.
“I encourage anyone who has information about illegal drugs, human trafficking, or other criminal activities to please contact the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office at 936-653-4367 or Multi-County Crime Stoppers at 800-392-7867,” stated Capers.
$486 dollars an ounce. Goodness gracious. Pretty sure you could buy that 2.2 million worth of pot in Oregon for well under 40k. I’ll volunteer to quality test the seizure if the Popos need any help with it.
It’s a little exaggerated, but Marijuana is usually sold by the gram and works out to about $17 a gram. They say they about $9-14 is the average depending on quality so it’s not as far off as you make it.