VIDEO: Two caught near Gallup smuggling nearly $1k worth of cocaine
GALLUP, N.M. (KRQE) – Two men were arrested after driving their semi-truck into the Gallup Port of Entry last month. Inside the truck was more than $800 worth of cocaine. Newly-obtained video shows the men trying to convince police they had no idea they were hauling drugs.
New Mexico State Police (NMSP) found nearly 75 pounds of cocaine in an otherwise empty trailer at the Gallup Port of Entry in early February. That’s 28 bricks worth.
Officers questioned one of the drivers of the truck, Charles Bennett. He told officers he and his co-driver, Robert Meyer, picked up the trailer in San Diego.
Video: NMSP checks on woman, finds drugs near where newborn sleeps
Officer: What do you believe you were transporting?
Bennett: Uhh, a trailer
Officer: Just the trailer?
Bennett: *nods head ‘yes’*
Meyer told officers the same thing. Both Bennett and Meyer told officers they were heading to Indiana, but their paperwork said they were to pick up a trailer in San Diego and deliver it, to San Diego.
The trailer was also sealed, which officers say is out of the ordinary for an empty container. Meyer said the last person to interact with the trailer was a guy at the distribution center in California and that he and his co-driver didn’t touch it.
New Mexico State Police seized 39 firearms, issued 14,991 traffic citations in February
Bennett and Meyer were both arrested and booked on trafficking and conspiracy charges. The information was also sent to a special agent with Homeland Security investigations, leading to federal charges for possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy.
Both Bennett and Meyer are scheduled to be back in a Gallup court later this month. The two are out of federal custody pending their trial.
