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Law enforcement officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) made the marijuana bust of a lifetime this week, when a routine highway traffic stop led to the discovery of 3,350 pounds of black market bud making its way from California to New York City.
According to local NBC affiliate KCBD, DPS officers pulled over the 26-foot U-Haul truck traveling east on Interstate 40 for a traffic violation on December 5th. During the stop, officers executed a search of the self-loaded moving truck, and found dozens of Home Depot boxes and black trash bags packed to the brim with vacuum-sealed packages full of pot.
Once the truck was fully unloaded, cops tallied 3,350 pounds of weed and called in local DEA special agents to take over the investigation. During subsequent interviews and snooping, law enforcement officers found out that the shipment had originated in San Jose, California, and was destined for the Bronx in New York City.
As America’s state-specific legal weed industry continues to grow, so too has the country’s cannabis black market. And with legalization in California bringing frequent raids of unregulated farms and steep barriers to access the legal industry, police have said they have seen an increase in large-scale interstate pot trafficking by truck and plane.
Back in Texas, the man driving the contraband-packed U-Haul, 39-year-old Florida resident Aneudy Gonzalez, has been arrested on charges of felony cannabis possession, and is awaiting trial in a county jail as federal agents continue their investigation.
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