| September
30, 2003 |
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| Illegal
Immigrants Charged in Marijuana Bust |
| |
Mario Roman |
Luis Diaz |
|
Three men said to
be illegal immigrants were arrested Monday at a local motel and charged with
possessing over seventy pounds of marijuana.
According to a Burke County
Narcotics Task Force news release, the three men were arrested in connection
with an ongoing undercover investigation into trafficking of illegal substances
into the Burke County area. |
Rodolfo Tapia |
|
| Mario Lopez Roman, 33, of 1818 22nd Street NE,
Hickory; Luis Alejondro Diaz, 24, of 1506 4th Street NE, Hickory; and Rodolfo
Tapia, 22, of 2690 1st Avenue NW, Catawba were each charged with three warrants
for trafficking marijuana by possession, transportation, and
manufacturing. |
| |
| Investigators said they located over sixty
pounds of marijuana during their initial encounter with the men at the
Morganton motel. Further investigation yielded approximately ten more pounds of
marijuana at the suspects' residences in Catawba County. An undisclosed amount
of cocaine was also located, detectives said. |
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| Law enforcement officers seized several vehicles
and a large sum of money, the press release stated. |
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| The three men were jailed under $100,000 secured
bonds on the drug charges, and will be detained for immigration services. |
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| The Burke County Sheriff's Office, Morganton
Department of Public Safety, Caldwell County Sheriff's Office, Lenoir Police
Department, Hickory Police Department, and Catawba County Sheriff's Office
assisted in the case. |
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| ************************************************************** |
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