Cellphone Traffic Stop In East Bay Leads To 300 Pounds Of Marijuana, $1M Cash
CASTRO VALLEY (KCBS) – A traffic stop of a driver talking on his cellphone uncovered a big East Bay drug haul over the weekend. Investigators said this shows the underground marijuana market is still lucrative despite legalization.
The California Highway Patrol said an officer spotted a man talking on his phone on Interstate 580 near Castro Valley on Saturday. As he tried to pull the driver over, he was cut off by a sedan, which was trying to distract the officer.
Both drivers were stopped and officers found over 200 pounds of marijuana between the two vehicles. That traffic stop led to two storage units in Alameda, where investigators found another 100 pounds of pot, grow equipment and over $1 million stashed in a suitcase.
"So basically a car stop for a cellphone violation led to the recovery of 325 pounds of marijuana, $1,030,000 and on top of that some marijuana equipment," Alameda County Sheriff's spokesperson Ray Kelly told KCBS.
The names of the two suspects are not being released yet but they're believed to be connected to a larger network.
"Marijuana continues to be a very, very lucrative business," Kelly said.