By Scott Harvey
Greenville, Royse City – Another traffic stop along Interstate 30 has netted over 50 pounds of marijuana in a recent bust by Greenville and Royse City Police.
The bust occurred near the 80 mile marker along Interstate 30 at approximately 1:54 a.m. Sunday. Officer Robert Pemberton with the Greenville Police Department was contacted by Royse City PD to assist with a traffic stop.
The driver of the vehicle, Tonia Steward, a 26-year old white female, had been stopped for a traffic violation and refused consent to search.
K-9 Ceiko was deployed and given the command to search for drugs. Ceiko gave a positive alert on the vehicle's driver door and rear doors. A probable cause search was conducted and just over 50 pounds of suspected marijuana was located in the rear cargo area of the vehicle in a large duffel bag. The contraband, which was covered in a masking agent believed to be liquid laundry detergent, was wrapped in cellophane along with dryer sheets in what appeared to be an attempt to mask the odor from the K-9.
The suspect was taken into custody by the Royse City Police Department.
Within the past 30 days, officers have recovered almost 400 pounds of marijuana from vehicles traveling along I-30.