Two arrested on I-20 in Rankin County with 1,959 lb of marijuana
Mississippi officers stopped an 18-wheeler on Interstate 20 in Rankin County on 29 October 2026 and seized about 1,959 pounds of marijuana alongside cocaine. Driver Yohannes Haile and co-driver Befikadu Belayneh were arrested and charged with trafficking and taken to the Rankin County Detention Center.
🇺🇸 Interstate 20, Rankin County, Mississippi · Mississippi, United States
·
Arrested
2
Charged
2
Cannabis
888.59 kg
Officers arrested driver Yohannes Haile and co-driver Befikadu Belayneh after
stopping their tractor-trailer on Interstate 20 in Rankin County.[1][2][3][4]Both men
were charged withaggravatedtrafficking of cocaine and trafficking of
marijuana.[1][2][5][4]Both were taken to the Rankin County Detention Center, and both
suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.[1]
Officers found approximately 204 pounds of cocaine and 1,959 pounds of
marijuana, about 888.6 kg, in the 18-wheeler.[1][2][5][3][4]The seizure occurred
Thursday, Oct. 29, during a joint operation involving the Mississippi Bureau of
Narcotics, the Department of Public Safety Interdiction Team, the Rankin County
Sheriff’s Department and the Madison Police Department.[1][2][5][3][4]The second account
identifies the men as Yohannes Teane Haile, 36, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, and
Belayneh Kassa Befikadu, 42, of Clarkston, Georgia.[6]
Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bo Luckey said the seizure
demonstrated the impact of strong partnerships between local and state law
enforcement agencies in disrupting drug transportation.[1][4]Authorities did not
release details about the origin or intended destination of the drugs.[1]
The approximately 204 pounds of cocaine reported alongside the marijuana is excluded from the cannabis figures under the mixed-event substance scope.
The combined more-than-2,100-pound total includes cocaine and is not used as a cannabis figure; only the separately stated 1,959 pounds of marijuana is counted.
The lead image on the submitted page is a generic Unsplash photo with an empty caption and does not show this seizure, so no media entry is added.
Authorities did not release details about the origin or intended destination of the drugs.
Full names, ages and Georgia cities for both men come only from the second account; no court outcome beyond detention and presumption of innocence was reported.
The page caption reverses the second man's name order as Belayneh Befikadu while its text calls him Befikadu Belayneh, matching the existing report.
The page's two MDPS portraits show the arrested men rather than the seizure itself, so no media entry is added.
The Tippah News account lists three agencies in the joint operation and does not mention the Madison Police Department named in the existing report.
The page carries three images credited to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety whose captions repeat the headline and do not establish what they depict, so no media entry is added.
Waynesville police seized more than $56,000 worth of THC products said to have been sold or given to middle and high school children, arresting one person. Police said many items contained marijuana or THC extracts in youth-friendly packaging and warned parents about their appearance.
Police in Calhoun County said a multi-agency operation in Anniston seized suspected marijuana, suspected oxycodone and three pistols. The Anniston Police Department said the case remains an active investigation.
Three people were detained after a go-fast boat was intercepted in the Eastern Pacific with 2,504 pounds of marijuana. A US task force said it supported an unnamed partner nation; a separate cocaine seizure the day before is not counted here.
Port St. Lucie police arrested Samuel Torres, 27, on 28 October 2026 after a traffic stop turned up about 9 pounds (4.1 kg) of marijuana packaged for sale and $1,450 in cash. He was charged with possession with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver and drug paraphernalia for retail sale, and released the next day on $22,500 bail.
