Troopers stopped a 2002 Chevy Tahoe, with Arkansas registration and occupied by one man and two women, for a marked lanes violation on the Interstate 71, near milepost 41 in Massie Twp., close to the border of Warren and Clinton counties. Troopers observed criminal indicators and a patrol drug-sniffing canine alerted to the vehicle, the highway patrol said. A patrol spokesman declined to describe what the indicators were. A probable cause search revealed four kilos of cocaine, troopers said.
The driver of the vehicle, Monica Martinez, 29, and passenger Marcela Castello Barreda, 21, both of Little Rock, Ark., and a second passenger, Leonardo Garcia, 25, of Columbus, Ohio, were charged with aggravated trafficking in cocaine and possession of cocaine, both first-degree felonies; and possession of criminal tools, a fifth degree felony, according to police.
All three suspects are being in the Warren County Jail on a $200,000 cash bond and will appear at 10 a.m., Thursday, in Warren County court. If convicted, they could each face up to 21 years in prison and a $42,500 fine.
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