Clermont County, Ohio - On Thursday, December 4, 2008, at approx. 2 p.m. a Clermont County sheriff’s deputy, while on patrol on I-275 near State Route 125, observed a cargo van commit a traffic violation. The Deputy stopped and approached the vehicle and spoke to the operator. During the conversation the deputy, who is also assigned a canine, detected a strong odor of marijuana. At this point the Deputy deployed a K-9 “Arron” which gave a positive indication for the presence of drugs. Upon inspection of the van, the deputy discovered that the rear of the vehicle was packed with several bales of marijuana, Sheriff Rodenberg said.
The operator of the vehicle and sole occupant, Terry Crowe, Hispanic Male DOB 08/14/76 of 764 East Virginia Street, Evansville, IN was arrested and charged with trafficking in drugs, a Felony of the second degree which carries a potential prison term of 8 years and a $15,000 fine. His bond was set today at $100,000.00 dollars cash or professional in Clermont County Municipal Court. A preliminary hearing is set for December 12, 2008.
The cargo van contained a total of 181 packages of marijuana weighing a total of 1500 pounds. This seizure is one of the largest seizures of marijuana in the history of Clermont County. Chief Deputy Rick W. Combs estimated the total street value of the marijuana to be 3 million dollars. In 2006, federal authorities in cooperation with local law enforcement arrested a Miami Township man for trafficking in large amounts of marijuana and removed 1600 pounds of marijuana from his property and a truck, Combs said.
Due to the style of packaging material and the apparent quality of the marijuana it is suspected that the drugs originated from Mexico but at this point very few indicators exist about its exact origination, Combs said. The investigation is continuing.