Over A Million Dollars In Marijuana, Cigarettes Uncovered By Police

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BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Harford County investigators take down a massive marijuana operation and a man transporting hundreds of cartons of cigarettes.

Two major busts in the same county -- marijuana and untaxed cigarettes, all totaling more than a million dollars. There were 249 pounds of high-grade marijuana, worth more than a million dollars alone.

"We believe this is a significant seizure because it took it off the streets," says Captain Lee Dunbar with Harford County Narcotics Task Force.

The bust took place at a storage facility along the 900 block of Pulaski Highway in Joppa, where police say Harold Junior Morris and his girlfriend Sherrie Miller were stashing the drugs along with valuable items.

Investigators believe the Marijuana was coming in directly from California, and the two were dealing it in and around Harford County as part of a massive operation

"We believe we seized only half of what that organization may have had on hand in weeks prior," says Captain Dunbar.

This bust comes around the same time MDTA police say they caught a North Carolina man smuggling untaxed cigarettes along I-95. 1200 cartons with a retail value of close to $80,000.

"It appears they go down south, where it appears they're cheaper in price and they transport them back up to areas," says Lt. Kevin Ayd.

That bust once again sheds light on the I-95 corridor, which has become a route police have honed in on to catch drug traffickers. Just months ago - they caught a Connecticut man smuggling more than a hundred pounds of marijuana in a van.

"It was in 5 large black trash bags," says Sgt. Edward Luers of the Maryland State Police.

95 is often a pipeline from Florida to Maine where criminals can blend in on the road.

"It's just that main highway where criminals can travel up and down the highway to get anywhere on the east coast," says Luers.

All 3 suspects were released from jail and are now awaiting trial. The Harford County Sheriff's office says almost 80 percent of their heroin overdose victims say they starting using marijuana at an early age.