Trooper recovers nearly 400 pounds of marijuana in traffic stop, driver charged with trafficking

Aug. 13—A California man is being charged with drug trafficking after an Oklahoma Highway Patrol traffic stop in Payne County led to the discovery of nearly 400 pounds of marijuana in the back of a moving truck.

Xin Sun, 54, was charged Aug. 9 in Payne County District Court with one count of trafficking. If convicted he faces a minimum of 10 years in prison up to life.

Trooper Ryan Long wrote that he was patrolling near Highway 51 west of Stillwater when his radar detected a U-Haul exceeding the speed limit.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Long initiated the stop without incident and found one man driving, later identified as Sun. Long said he could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from the truck. When asked, Long said the driver told him he was transporting furniture. Long said he asked the driver to open the cargo area. Long said he immediately smelled marijuana and observed many large moving-type boxes before detaining Sun and continuing his search.

Long wrote that after opening boxes he found several individually packaged vacuum-sealed plastic bags of a green, leafy substance. In one box, he counted 22 individual bags. Through a translator app on his phone, Long said he read Sun his Miranda rights, and Sun agreed to talk to him. According to his report, Sun told Long he did not have a medical marijuana transportation license and he was being paid to deliver the marijuana from Stillwater to an unknown address in Oklahoma City. Long said Sun told him he could not tell him who his boss was, where he worked and he was supposed to get a new address for delivery after he arrived in Oklahoma City.

Long said he eventually uncovered 14 boxes of marijuana with 295 individual bundles adding up to about 360 pounds.

Sun appeared in court Wednesday where bond was set at $100,000. He is scheduled for his next appearance Aug. 17.