When an Illinois State Police Trooper made a traffic stop in Madison County, the behavior of the driver led to the discovery of a dozen pounds of illegal drugs hidden inside the car.
According to the Illinois State Police, a trooper stopped an SUV heading northbound on I-55 near Collinsville for improper display of license plate. During the traffic stop at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 4, 2014 police said the trooper noticed that the driver, 46-year-old Rodolfo Hernandez-Flores from Tijuana, Mexico was acting “unusually nervous.”
Police said a bi-lingual trooper was called to help with Spanish translation. The troopers on scene “believed that Flores was being deceptive and may have been involved in criminal activity” and called for a K-9 unit. The canine alerted the troopers to the hidden drugs.
A spokesperson from the Illinois State Police said officers searched the SUV and found a hidden compartment with “multiple vacuum sealed bags of contraband which later tested positive for the presence of heroin.” Police found 5.5 kilos of the drug, which equates to more than 12 pounds.
Police estimate that the drugs hold a street value of $125,000 – $250,000.
According to police, Flores admitted that the heroin was from Tijuana headed for Columbus, Ohio and he was paid to transport the drugs. He was charged with possession with intent to deliver heroin and was issued a warning for the license plate infraction. He was taken to the Madison County Jail.
