Scott Walker talks to Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold about the major drug bust that took place on Tuesdday...

More than 200 pounds of cocaine worth $2.5 million and destined for Rutherford County was confiscated Tuesday(4/3/2012) in the rural Florence community, said Sheriff Robert Arnold.

RCSO confiscates cocaine before it hits streets

“These illegal drugs were going to flood this community,” Sheriff Arnold said. “While the county has dealt with large seizures in the past, we have seen an increase of activity in the county over the last several years where cocaine has been the object of an investigation.”

Sheriff Arnold said the record amount of cocaine seized Tuesday reinforces the need for a highly-trained, specialized unit to investigate illegal drug trafficking in the county.

“We need to be able to protect our community from this type of scourge,” Sheriff Arnold said. 

Sheriff’s deputies and detectives from the Special Enforcement Bureau confiscated the record 91 kilograms (200.2 pounds) from a horse trailer parked in the Florence community. One kilogram weighs 2.2 pounds. The previous record was 27 kilograms of cocaine recovered by the sheriff’s narcotics unit in 2005.

Suspects Antonio Dunlap (left photo), 41, of Nashville and Jose Anjel Beltran (right photo), 28, of Bakersville, California, were charged with criminal conspiracy to distribute cocaine by Rutherford County Sheriff’s Detective Travis Robinson. The case was adopted by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration for prosecution in U.S. District Court.

Sheriff Arnold and the top supervisors in both the patrol and narcotics divisions said they appreciate the citizen who called the sheriff’s office about the concerns and Cpl. Wright, Deputy Hoekstra and Balu who were persistent in the investigation.

Commander Preble A. Acton, who supervises the Criminal Investigations Division, said this seizure legitimizes the need for not only interstate interdiction, but for an experienced, diverse narcotics unit which has the experience to investigate and work with other agencies when dealing with this amount of illegal drugs. 

Tip leads RCSO to horse trailer in Florence Community

The investigation began Tuesday when a citizen called the sheriff’s office about the suspicious horse trailer. When Corporal Brian Wright responded, he found the trailer from Texas showed little evidence it was used to haul horses. He notified Sergeant Chris Kauffman and Deputy Mike Hoekstra and K-9 Balu, who indicated the presence of illegal drugs.

Narcotics detectives obtained a search warrant where they found the tightly wrapped kilograms of cocaine covered with thick axle grease to mask the smell. Several suspects were charged.

Captain Jason Mathis, who supervises the Special Enforcement Bureau, said cocaine dealers take the kilograms of cocaine and cut the product by adding fillers before selling the illegal drug.

“Realistically with a cut, you get 182 kilograms,” Mathis said, adding the street value is $100 a gram. “People typically use cocaine by smoking, snorting or ingesting one-fourth to one-half gram at a time.”

Public holds key to crime reduction

Mathis credited the citizen who saw the suspicious horse trailer and notified the sheriff’s office to investigate.

“People realize there are drugs in our communities,” Mathis said. “If you take 91 kilos of cocaine in the heart of the county, you have a bad problem.”

Commander Jacoby O’Gwynn, who supervises the Patrol Division, said Corporal Wright’s persistence in the preliminary investigation, Sergeant Kauffman’s background and knowledge of narcotics investigations, Deputy Hoekstra’s training with K-9 Balu, who indicated the illegal drugs, and the training and expertise of the Special Enforcement Bureau detectives combined to seize the drugs. 

Small team...Big job

Narcotics Detective Lieutenant Egon Grissom said Balu’s skill reinforces the need for K-9s in illegal drug investigations.

Mathis said only six detectives comprise the narcotics unit. They investigate illegal drug cases throughout the county.

“The Narcotics Division is an invaluable tool and resource to keep our community and children safe and to keep narcotics off the streets,” Mathis said. 

Grissom said law-abiding citizens are unaware of the amount of illegal drugs in Rutherford County.

“We try to put a dent into illegal drugs,” Grissom said.

Again, acting on a tip from a local resident--the Rutherford County Sheriffs Office searched a horse trailer that was parked in the Florence Community after their K-9 officer determined drugs were present. $2.5-million in cocaine headed to this area was confiscated by Sheriff Arnold and his team.