August 05, 2007  Cass County, Nebraska
Trooper finds 31 pounds of cocaine inside the gas tank of a vehicle from AZ

A routine traffic stop on I-80 led to the seizure of 31.1 lbs of cocaine and the arrest of an Arizona man for Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Deliver.

Just before 3:00 p.m., on Sunday, August 5, 2007, a Trooper with Headquarters Troop-Lincoln stopped an eastbound 1998 Ford Expedition with Arizona plates, near the Greenwood Interchange, in Cass County. During the stop the Trooper was given consent to search the vehicle. The search revealed the vehicle's gas tank had recently been removed and replaced. The driver consented to follow the Trooper to a gas station where the gas tank was removed and 24 packages of cocaine were observed floating in the gas in the tank. The seized cocaine has an estimated street value of one million dollars.

The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, 45-year-old Jose Rangel, of Phoenix, Arizona was lodged in the Cass County Jail on Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Deliver.

 
Source: Nebraska State Patrol