THP finds 100 pounds of marijuana in motorhome
The Tennessee Highway Patrol announced Friday it seized 83 bags of marijuana weighing a total of 100 pounds following a traffic stop of a mobile home traveling from Colorado.
Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Richard Thomas stopped a motorhome on the eastbound lanes of I-24 on Wednesday. The driver stated he was traveling from Colorado, going back home to Miami. Upon interviewing the driver, Thomas “observed several indicators that indicated possible criminal activity,” a press release states.
As three other troopers arrived to assist, Thomas received consent to search the motorhome. With the help of a K9 officer, Thomas began to look inside the vehicle. In the bedroom area of the motorhome were several empty duffel bags and moving boxes. Thomas asked the driver, 40-year-old Lester Beltran of Miami, if he was moving. Beltran then stated “it was only household goods,” the release states.
Thomas then asked Beltran if he would open a box to confirm the contents, at which time he told the officer “It’s marijuana,” according to the release. Troopers located six cardboard boxes containing 83 vacuum sealed bags of high-grade marijuana with a total weight of 100 pounds. The vehicle was seized and the suspect was arrested without incident. The investigation revealed Beltran was traveling from Colorado, where he stated he obtained the marijuana to take back to Miami. The motor home was registered to Beltran’s wife’s company based in Montana.
“States like Tennessee, where marijuana is not legal, are beginning to see more of the drug, which may have been grown legally in another state and then trafficked into states like ours,” said Tennessee Highway Patrol Col. Tracy Trott.
The driver was arrested without incident and transported to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.