Notice to Media

Highway Police Officers Uncover Load of Marijuana at Hope Weigh Station

LITTLE ROCK (4-21) – Officers from the Arkansas Highway Police Division of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department have uncovered another shipment of marijuana, according to AHTD Director Dan Flowers.

On Friday morning, April 21, Highway Police stopped a large truck for inspection at the weigh station on I-30 near Hope in Hempstead County. During a search of the truck cab, Highway Police officers discovered approximately 20 pounds of marijuana.

The driver, Freddie Tucker, age 30, of Memphis, Tennessee was booked into the Hempstead County jail for illegal possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. He is being held under a $25,000 bond. It is believed that Tucker was traveling from the Fort Worth, Texas area to Memphis.

This is the 11th drug-related arrested at the Hope Weigh Station since January 1 of this year. A total of almost 270 pounds of assorted narcotics including marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine have been confiscated at the station.

“Not only are our officers highly skilled in vehicle inspections and commercial vehicle regulations, they are trained to look for signs of criminal behavior,” Flowers noted.

“The interdiction and destruction of this amount of marijuana will not stop drug use or drug trafficking. However, we believe that it will have a significant impact on the traffickers’ profit margins,” AHP Chief Ronnie Burks said. “In addition, we’ve kept a vast amount of illegal drugs from making it into the hands of our citizens, especially our youth,” he added.

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