An anonymous tip led Harris County sheriff’s deputies to a warehouse in the 7300 block of West Road in northwest Houston late on Wednesday 27 December 2006, where they seized one of the largest marijuana loads the county had seen.[1] Deputies stopped a truck leaving the warehouse with its headlights off and found a small amount of cocaine and marijuana in the cab, then searched the building and found 502 bundles of marijuana packed in wooden crates.[1]
The haul weighed nearly 7,000 kilograms and carried an estimated street value of $25 million to $40 million, the National Drug Intelligence Center reported.[2] A truck driver was charged with drug trafficking over the seizure.[1] Sheriff’s Lieutenant J.D. Glesmann told the Chronicle he had never seen a marijuana load as big.[1]
Transshipment point
The warehouse appeared to be a distribution point where bulk loads were broken down for transport east, possibly through Atlanta to the East Coast, according to Stan Furce, a former DEA agent heading Houston’s High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area office.[1] The seizure confirmed Houston’s role as a principal transshipment area for marijuana: Texas Department of Public Safety figures show Harris County marijuana seizures more than doubled from 887 kilograms in 2005 to 1,906 kilograms in 2006.[2]
