WOW, THAT’S A LOT OF WEED

North Carolina deputies bag mother and daughter trafficking 130 pounds of pot

By Joe Johnson

The Herald-Sun
October 4, 2017

MEBANE, North Carolina -- A mother and daughter from California who authorities charged had 130 pounds of pot in the trunk of their car were arrested Monday night on Interstate 40 near Mebane, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

Ruth Paez Diaz, 46, of San Jose, Calif., and Briann Marie Diaz, 26, of San Jose Calif., were arrested following a traffic stop just before 10 p.m.

They were traveling eastbound on Interstate 40 near Mebane when they were stopped, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who said they were investigating a traffic violation. They asked for help from a Mebane police K-9 officer.

The dog alerted to the odor of illegal drugs coming from the vehicle, Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Chan McDade said.

That gave deputies legal grounds to search of the vehicle, and they found approximately 130 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of the Toyota Camry, McDade said in a statement. The marijuana was valued at $500,000.

The women were arrested and charged with two counts each of trafficking marijuana. Each was held in the Orange County Jail under $100,000 bail. They are scheduled for second court appearances Oct. 9.