ERIE TOWNSHIP – Nearly 100 kilograms of marijuana and $350,000 in cash were confiscated from a commercial semi-truck traveling from California to New Jersey on Monday.
According to Michigan State Police, the agency’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division initiated a traffic stop of the vehicle after it bypassed an I-75 weigh station in Erie Township.
The driver, a 25-year-old man from North Hollywood, Calif., consented to a search of the truck after officers say they observed “several indicators of possible criminal activity.”
While searching the tractor-trailer, officers found a large amount of U.S. currency in vacuum-sealed bags concealed in the the truck’s sleeper berth. Upon a more thorough inspection by the Monroe Area Narcotics Team and Investigative Services (MANTIS), investigators found a total of 97 kilograms of processed marijuana and $346,000 in cash, all vacuum-sealed.
Police said the truck is owned by a company based out of Bartlett, Tenn.
The driver was arrested and taken to the Monroe County Jail pending review of possible charges. The investigation remains ongoing.