Suspected Cocaine and Methamphetamine Found on Sunday Morning Traffic Stop

(KNSI) – Suspected cocaine, methamphetamine, and cash were all seized following a traffic stop in Benton County early Sunday morning.

According to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, about 1:30, police were called about a driver going the wrong way on westbound Highway 23 near 40th Avenue Northeast. Police say they found a car in that same area and said the vehicle was displaying a temporary license out of Arkansas and driving well below the posted speed limit. They say the driver was swerving all over the road, so they pulled them over.

The driver, 32-year-old Luis Alberto Mares Rodriguez of Cadereyta Jiminez, Mexico, allegedly told deputies he flew to Houston, Texas, about a week ago and drove a car from Houston to Arkansas, where he changed cars and drove to Minneapolis. He said he was in the area because he was looking for a cheap motel and would be leaving soon to go to Nashville.

Investigators say they noticed Rodriguez lacked any spare supplies like clothing or luggage that someone would need to support themselves during an extended travel period. They said his answers were inconsistent, and they observed behaviors “consistent with with individuals who traffic controlled substances.”

A K9 unit was brought in from the Sauk Rapids Police Department to search the car. Inside the vehicle, deputies say they found a softball-sized package containing a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine, about $10,000 cash, a meth pipe, a small baggie containing suspected methamphetamine, and a notebook that contained what is believed to be notations of drug transactions.

Rodriguez was arrested and booked into the Benton County jail, and was charged Tuesday morning.

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