Thread: FL Toll booth stop ends in arrest of three illegals, marij

Toll booth stop ends in arrest of three illegals, marijuana seized

* By Naples Daily News staff report
* Posted May 1, 2010 at 3:25 p.m.

They said they were traveling from Texas to Florida to help their uncle cut his grass.

But authorities didn’t believe it, and ended up arresting three undocumented Mexican immigrants and seizing some 35 pounds of marijuana Thursday at the toll booth on the southbound side of Interstate 75.

Collier County Sheriff’s Cpl. Thomas M. Sweeny and his narcotics canine partner, Matsu, were on patrol at the toll booth just before 5 p.m. when they noticed a silver pickup towing an enclosed trailer. The pickup’s windshield was cracked, police reported.

Sweeny said he initiated a traffic stop and interviewed the driver, Juan Carlos Sanchez, 32. Sanchez, who was visibly nervous, told him they were traveling from Austin to Homestead and transporting a lawn mower for their uncle. Sweeny said he had his canine partner, Matsu, sniff the car’s exterior and the animal detected narcotics.

Several plastic wrapped packages of suspected marijuana were found inside door panels of the pickup, reports said. In addition to Sanchez, two passengers also were arrested – Marco Antonio Sanchezmacedo, 21, and Rafael Sanchezmasedo, 19.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, officials identified the three suspects as Mexican citizens in the U.S. illegally, and they placed holds on each at the Collier County jail.

Each suspect faces a count of trafficking more than 25 pounds of marijuana, a felony.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/may ... s-marijua/

Note: All three are from Austin, TX
Follow this case online: http://www.collierclerk.com/RecordsSearch/CourtRecords

They said they were traveling from Texas to Florida to help their uncle cut his grass.

No need to travel to Florida because it appears the 'grass' was already cut!