Notice to Media

Highway Police officers confiscate load of marijuana

June 29, 1998-- Officers from the Highway Police Division of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) found more than just cantaloupes in a semi-trailer being inspected at the Lehi Weigh Station Friday, June 26, 1998.

Hidden among the load of cantaloupes, officers uncovered 666 pounds of marijuana. The marijuana has an estimated street value of approximately $750,000.

Officers were conducting a routine commercial vehicle safety inspection when they discovered that neither the driver nor the passenger had a valid Commercial Driver’s License. Further questioning and inspection by the officers led them to become suspicious of the occupants and the load. A Highway Police drug dog detected the possible presence of marijuana which was seized after the driver consented to a complete search.

Taken into custody at the scene were the driver, William Gordon, 37, of Miami, Florida; and a passenger, Marcel Rose, 35, of Hawthorne, California. Both were charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. The suspects are being held in the Crittenden County Jail under a bond of $666,000 each.

"Our drug interdiction efforts are proving to be very beneficial," said Dan Flowers, Director of the AHTD. According to Ron Burks, Highway Police Chief, this is the fourth large seizure in as many months by Highway Police officers. To date in 1998, Highway Police officers have seized over 2,800 pounds of marijuana and $3.1 million in cash.

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