DPS seizes 22 lbs. of cocaine in Louise traffic stop
By BRENDA SOMMER news1@leader-news.com

SEIZED: DPS troopers discovered 22 pounds of cocaine in a northbound vehicle Sunday. Contributed Photo

A state trooper reportedly found a 22 pounds of bundled cocaine near Louise over the weekend inside a car driven by a Houston woman.

At 9:46 a.m. Sunday, Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Todd Respondek saw a 2000 Kia sport-utility vehicle moving northbound on U.S. 59 at the Wharton-Jackson county line. He stopped the SUV right outside Louise because it wasn't staying in its lane, according to DPS-Pierce Sgt. Danny Terronez.

After talking to the two women in the car, Respondek asked for permission to search it, and the women agreed, Terronez said.

The trooper then radioed for El Campo Police Officer Mark Biskup and his drug-sniffing police dog Apache to join him in the search, as did troopers Alfred Ochoa Jr. and Jose Mena.

They reportedly found 10 kilos of cocaine worth $160,000 in eight tightly wrapped bundles stuffed inside a hidden compartment.

"The guys worked well together," Terronez said. "We are always on the lookout for the stuff, and with assistance of the El Campo Police Department, we got another load off the road."

Arrested were Rosa Jimenez, 26, and her mother, Gloria Garcia, 47. Both women live in Houston.

With them was a 2-year-old child who was released to relatives, Terronez said.

Jimenez was charged with possession of a controlled substance and abandoning/endangering a child - child neglect. Her bond was set at $85,000.

Bond was set at $75,000 for Garcia, who was charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Both women remained in custody as of presstime. U.S. 59 is a well known corridor for both drugs and money derived from criminal enterprises.

The last large DPS cocaine bust in the El Campo area took place in January 2006, when state troopers arrested a Corpus Christi couple after a wild chase through town during which they allegedly tossed 2 kilos (4.4 pounds) of cocaine from their pickup.

Last year, more marijuana was seized by state troopers in Wharton County - 10,066 lbs. - than in any other of Texas' 254 counties, comprising 10.5 percent of the statewide total of 95,653 pounds.

As well, troopers seized $4.3 million in suspicious money in Wharton County last year, about a fifth of the $20.874,816.37 seized in Texas in 2006.

In 2005, troopers from the Pierce DPS office seized at least 32 kilos of cocaine and $2.8 million in alleged drug money during stops along U.S. 59.