ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. — Authorities say a traffic stop on Interstate 12 in St. Tammany Parish ended in deputies seizing dozens of large vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana on Sunday.
According to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office, a deputy stopped a red pickup truck with a Texas license plate around 9 p.m. Sunday on I-12 eastbound just west of the Highway 1088 exit.
Deputies say the driver, 30-year-old Jorge Valeriano, said he was driving from Gatesville, Texas, to Birmingham, Alabama to find a job as an ironworker. However, during a search of the pickup, deputies found 46 vacuum-sealed bags with 51 pounds of suspected marijuana hidden inside two suitcases and a plastic container in the truck's bed.
The sheriff's office said Valeriano also had $1,457 which it believes to be "proceeds of illegal narcotics transactions."
Valeriano was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center on the following charges: following too close, driving left of center, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses.
“Too often criminals attempt to use our local highways and interstates as passageways to transport illegal drugs,” Sheriff Randy Smith said. “We will not tolerate individuals bringing drugs into our community. If you are found to be transporting drugs into or through St. Tammany Parish, you will be arrested.”
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