A routine traffic stop in Florida’s Hernando County turned into a major marijuana bust resulting in major criminal charges for two California women.
According to NextShark, a Florida highway patrol officer was traveling southbound on Interstate 75 around 9:30 a.m. on March 31 when he noticed a white SUV trailing a semi-truck too closely. When he caught up to the SUV, the driver switched lanes and began traveling over the posted 70 miles per hour speed limit. The truck pull4r over after the trooper activated his lights signaling the stop.
The trooper claims that the smell of burnt marijuana emanated from the vehicle, according to the Hernando Sun, which reported the incident on April 3.
One passenger, identified as Toy Phaphon, 46, was on her stomach and claimed to be heading to a follow-up appointment for a recent BBL procedure. When asked about the smell, the driver, Jenny Khamphouvong, 39, said she had smoked marijuana while filling up the rental car at a gas station but denied having more marijuana inside the vehicle or on her person, according to NextShark. Another trooper soon arrived at the scene and felt there was probable cause to search the vehicle and its passengers.
The findings proved their suspicions were correct.
Behind the second row of seats in the SUV, a brown cardboard box closed with packing tape was found to be hiding several large vacuum-sealed packages that field tested positive for marijuana, according to the Hernando Sun. A second box with the same contents was also discovered along with a pair of suitcases and a napkin upon which the driver had written the description and prices of the products inside. When the search ended, troopers found 61 individual bags of marijuana weighing a total of 75.92 pounds.
Both women were taken into custody and booked into the Hernando County Detention Center on multiple drug charges, including trafficking.