Over 200lbs of illegal Marijuana confiscated, $10,000 in pair of I-40 traffic stops
The Arkansas State Police's Interstate Criminal Patrol arrested two women in separate traffic stops for trafficking illegal narcotics on Interstate 40.
On Tuesday, May 7, ASP stopped a white Chrysler Pacifica near the 99-mile marker in Pope County for a traffic violation. Upon searching the vehicle, State Troopers discovered five trash bags containing 120 individually wrapped bundles of illegal marijuana. Each bundle weighed roughly one pound. Troopers also found $9,350 in cash inside the suspect's vehicle.
ASP arrested 50-year-old Kristi Dortch of Eureka Springs, California, and she was transported to the Pope County Detention Center where she was charged with felony possession with purpose to deliver a controlled substance, felony possession of drug paraphernalia, and multiple traffic violations. Dortch told investigators she was traveling from Eureka Springs, California, to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Shortly under a week later, on Monday, May 13, ASP made another traffic stop on I-40, this time for a rented black Chevrolet Malibu for a traffic violation at the 172-mile mark in Lonoke County. After conducting a search of the suspect's vehicle, ASP discovered 115 pounds of illegal marijuana in the car's trunk, along with $1,005.
Troopers arrested 41-year-old Shayla Cooper of Oklahoma City and transported her to the Lonoke County Detention Center where she was charged with felony counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Cooper told investigators she was traveling from Oklahoma City to Atlanta, Georgia.
