On August 22, 2017, a Texas truck driver was traveling westbound on Interstate 94 when he failed to stop at Grass Lake scales in Michigan.
The driver, Jose Luis Vega, 58, did not stop because he was transporting 10 one-kilogram bricks of cocaine in the cab of his tractor-trailer.
A Michigan State trooper witnessed the tractor-trailer passing the weigh station without stopping when instructed to and pulled the truck over.
Once pulled over, Vega was attempting to fill out his log book as the trooper approached the car. Vega was acting oddly while being questioned by the trooper but consented to a truck search.
The troopers used police K-9s to quickly locate the bricks of cocaine in the closet.
Vega was arrested at the scene and taken to Jackson County Jail. His bail was set at $250,000.
He was charged with the possession with intent to deliver more than 10 kilograms of cocaine.
On Thursday, August 31, 2017, authorities moved Vega from 12th District Court to U.S. District Court where he will be charged with possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute.
He was removed from Jackson County Jail and is now in the custody of the U.S. Marshall Service.
According to M Live, Vega will be charged with possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute.
This crime is punishable by up to life in prison.
Vega does have a prior drug conviction from an arrest in 2001. He was arrested by the Texas Drug Enforcement Task Force for drug possession and evading arrest.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the 2001 drug case.
The final verdict of Vega’s most recent drug case has not yet been determined.