COVINGTON, LA — Saint Tammany deputies say a series of traffic stops netted multiple arrests and the confiscation of a variety of illegal drugs. All of the stops were made along interstates in the parish.
The first stop happened on November 7 when deputies pulled over a rental car with Alabama license plates on Interstate 12. They say the car was speeding. Deputies say they could smell marijuana and found a small amount of the drug in a front passenger compartment on the car. Hidden in a rear passenger compartment, they say they found more than $37,000 in cash. According to deputies, neither passenger could account for all of the money or how much belonged to each of them. They say they confiscated the cash and drugs, and the investigation is ongoing.
The second stop happened on November 14, also on Interstate 12. Deputies say they pulled over a car after the driver failed to use a turn signal. During a search of the car, they say they found about one pound of methamphetamine hidden inside of a speaker box in the trunk. They say cocaine, ecstasy, meth, and drug paraphernalia was also found in other parts of the car. Two suspects were arrested, one from Slidell and the other from Madisonville.
The last of the three stops happened on November 15 on Interstate 10. Deputies say they pulled over a car with California license plates for improper lane usage. They say the two occupants of the car were from Florida. After searching the vehicle, they say they found about 18 pounds of high-grade raw marijuana and about 1,700 vape cartridges containing THC, the chemical compound found in marijuana that is responsible for giving people a high. Deputies say the drugs were disguised as Christmas presents.
