Traffic stop nets $600,000 in drugs
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on August 16, 2005 1:50 PM
A traffic stop for man driving without a valid operator's license on Monday led to the arrest of three men and the seizure of more than $600,000 worth of drugs and $75,000 in cash.
Wayne County Sheriff's Cpl. Michael Cox and Sgt. Chris Worth, both members of the Aggressive Criminal Enforcement Team, said the motorist was driving erratically at about 1:30 p.m. on N.C. 111 South.
"I knew him and knew his license was suspended," Cox said today.
The driver got out at a Hispanic store at N.C. 111 and N.C. 55, where the officers identified him, talked to him and determined that he did not have a valid license.
Cox said state revenue officials also had warrants on the man because he owed $3,500 in taxes for drugs that were seized in a previous arrest. An official faxed a copy of the tax warrant to the deputies.
With the warrant, Cox said they seized about $900 from him, secured him, searched his pickup truck, popped up the back seat and found about 500 kilograms, or 11 pounds, of cocaine in a book bag. The cocaine and the pickup were seized.
The officers charged Bertin Aviles, 24, of N.C. 111 South, Seven Springs, with trafficking in cocaine by transporting more than 500 kilograms and driving while his license was revoked. Aviles was placed in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of a $500,000 secured bond.
Information from the traffic stop then led officers to two men at the Irish Motel on Dr. M.L. King Jr. Expressway, the U.S. 70 bypass.
The Goldsboro-Wayne County Drug Squad got a search warrant and seized about nine ounces of cocaine that was worth about $41,600, about 45 pounds of marijuana that was worth about $108,000, about $75,000 in cash and three vehicles.
Rico Jovan Moses, 28, of Park Avenue and Darryl R. Coley, 27, of Cardinal Drive were arrested and charged with trafficking in marijuana and trafficking in cocaine by possessing more than 200 grams. Each was jailed in lieu of an $800,000 secured bond.
Sheriff's patrol lieutenants and federal Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, officers assisted in the investigation.
Police Chief Tim Bell said today the arrests resulted from the good cooperation among the agencies.
Sheriff Carey Winders added that the officers worked 12 hours on the case, getting finished at about 1:30 a.m.
"We're always working on drugs," Winders said, "but it does take time. We do get requests from citizens, but we can't tell them what we're doing in ongoing investigations. The amount of drugs and cash make it a lucrative illegal business. We're doing what we can in a cooperative effort to stop it. They are many" involved in drugs, "and we are few."