State Police said a traffic stop of a box truck Friday on Interstate 74 near U.S. 51 south of Bloomington uncovered nearly 80 pounds of cocaine in one-kilogram packages. Troopers had stopped the truck for a safety inspection.
Prosecutors said in a probable cause statement that 40-year-old Osvaldo Anaya Ramirez faces controlled substance trafficking, drug possession, and delivery charges.
Anaya Ramirez told state police he was taking a cargo of empty wine barrels from Santa Maria, California, to Bloomington, Indiana, and he had not seen the inside of the box truck because warehouse workers loaded the truck and padlocked it. Troopers say they matched a dusty shoe print on one of the wine barrels to the shoes worn by Anaya Ramirez.
Troopers also found 17 $100 bills and one $1 bill.
Drug Task Force 6 investigators estimated the cocaine seized is worth about $540,000 wholesale, and $3.63 million retail.
The cocaine packages also were of varying colors and had labels on them such as "Toyota," "Nine," and "Zeno."
