October 26, 2001 Highway 281, Texas
Trooper seizes 29 pounds of Mexican brown heroin during a traffic stop

A traffic stop last week in Live Oak County lead to the seizure of 29 pounds of Mexican brown heroin, the largest amount of the drug seized by Department of Public Safety troopers during a random traffic stop in more than four years and the second largest in DPS history.

Trooper G. Lanford stopped the 1991 Mercury Cougar at 1 a.m. Friday in George West for exceeding the speed limit. The vehicle was northbound on Highway 281.

The driver consented to a vehicle search, which revealed nine bundles in a false compartment under the windshield. After drug analysis was completed, the contraband was identified as Mexican brown heroin with an estimated value between $900,000 and $1.2 million.

Josue Moran, 45, of Denton has been charged with felony possession of heroin and is being held on $2 million bond in the Live Oak County jail. The criminal investigation is continuing with the assistance of Department of Public Narcotics investigators.

The biggest heroin seizure by a DPS trooper during a random traffic stop was nearly 31 pounds in April 1997 in Nueces County. Friday's seizure is the second biggest on record--and nearly three times the amount seized by DPS troopers in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

Source: Texas Department of Public Safety