A police force in a small Alabama town discovered illegal aliens trading a significant amount of cocaine after stopping their automobile for a minor offense.
Calera Police Chief David Hyche said a patrol officer stopped a vehicle going through town last week because it did not have a tag. During the stop, Hyche stated, “Probable cause for a search was evident,” which resulted in the finding of 46 pounds of cocaine.
He stated that the monetary value of the narcotics will be determined once Homeland Security Investigations has examined what was confiscated.
We detained and charged the driver and passenger, both Colombian men who are unlawfully present in the United States, with cocaine trafficking. Hyche stated that one of the males is sought in Atlanta for narcotics trafficking and failure to appear.
“We didn’t initially know where these two were from, what they had in their car or their immigration status,” Hyche said. “The choices these two men made led to this outcome.”
Hyche also stated that the agency is collaborating with federal agencies to pursue charges against the individuals for narcotics and immigration crimes.
Police believe the men were traveling from California to Miami and chose a unique route to bypass traditional drug enforcement zones.
“If they chose I-65 to avoid heavy drug interdiction areas, it didn’t work out for them,” Hyche said.
Though traffic stops for minor violations have become unpopular in recent years, Hyche argued for them, citing examples where minor traffic violations resulted in the rescue of two children in peril.
The police chief claims that “weak and passive law enforcement” encourages criminal behavior.
“Many departments around the U.S. have ceased making stops for minor traffic violations. I have repeatedly spoken out against this and other instances where law enforcement leaders apologize for enforcing the law or change policy to appease critics,” Hyche said. “We in law enforcement don’t make laws, we enforce them.”
Hyche also compared the current drug situation to when he began his law enforcement career decades ago, claiming that drugs such as cocaine and heroin are now cheap and simple to obtain since they are flowing across the border.
“If we control the borders, the dope would be expensive,” Hyche said. “The solution has to be at the border. It can’t be here.”
Shelby County District Attorney Matt Casey complimented the police officers “for their great work protecting our community” and stated that the two males are being held on a $10 million bond.
The police chief says this is the largest bust in Shelby County history.
