Over $1 million worth of meth found during I-10 traffic stop in Harrison County, sheriff says
Harrison County deputies found over $1 million worth of methamphetamine in a vehicle on its way to Miami during a traffic stop on Interstate 10, law enforcement officials said.
Esteban Bernardino-Betancourt, 36, of San Antonio, Texas, was driving on I-10 Monday near mile marker 20 when he was pulled over for following another vehicle too closely, Sheriff Troy Peterson said in a press release.
A criminal complaint filed by a DEA agent detailed how the traffic stop led to the drug discovery.
Before pulling over the white Dodge 1500 pickup, the responding Harrison County deputy also noticed a paper tag with the first two numbers obstructed, the complaint said. When told the reason for the traffic stop, Bernardino-Betancourt said the tag must have gotten wet, and he handed over a Texas driver’s license.
The deputy also noticed “a dog and numerous exotic birds in the backseat,” and Bernardino-Betancourt said he was going to Florida to buy birds and would return to Texas the next day.
While the deputy was waiting on information to write a traffic citation, he noticed the bed of the pickup was filled with dirt and gravel which Bernardino-Betancourt said was to repair the ground at the flea market where he works in San Antonio.
The complaint said the deputy suspected criminal activity because of the “implausible travel itinerary, amount of gravel and tools in the bed of the truck, and the numerous animals in the vehicle.” Bernardino-Betancourt also seemed nervous and had “minimal amounts of clothing” for the trip.
Bernardino-Betancourt consented to a search, the complaint said, and when the deputy opened a bucket and dumped it out, a vaccuum-sealed bag of what appeared to be drugs fell out.
The deputy then arrested Bernardino-Betancourt and took him to the DEA office in Gulfport, where a search found 140 one-pound packages of meth worth more than $1 million, the press release said.
Deputies said the man started speaking freely after being read his Miranda Rights. He told deputies he was to bring back $100,000 from Miami and would be paid $25,000.
Bernardino-Betancourt was placed into federal custody by the DEA on a charge of conspiracy to distribute meth.
He’s being held at the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office Adult Detention Center awaiting an initial appearance before a federal magistrate in the U.S. Circuit Court in Gulfport.
This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 11:37 AM.
