NH State Police Make Pot Bust

A Massachusetts man is being held on $500,000 cash bail after being stopped for speeding by the New Hampshire State Police on I-93, in a car that allegedly had a number of pounds of marijuana in it.

Philip Perez, 43, of Saugus, was stopped around 8:20 p.m. on Jan. 2, while allegedly spending in a 2012 Infiniti on I-93 northbound in Concord, according to a press release. When asked for a driver’s license, Perez allegedly was unable to produce one. A state trooper reportedly ran a records check on the driver and his license allegedly came up under suspension.

Perez was arrested at the scene, according to the report.

The state trooper conducted an inventory of the car before it was towed away. After he opened up the truck, he allegedly saw “several clear bags containing a material he recognized to be marijuana,” according to Sgt. William E. Graham, of the NH State Police.

The car was towed to the Troop D headquarters in Concord where it was held until a search warrant could be requested. It was later granted and the car was searched. Eight bags of marijuana were allegedly found in the car, with an estimated weight of seven to eight lbs., according to Graham.

Perez was charged with speeding, driving after suspension, and possession of a controlled drug with the intent to distribute. He is due in Concord District Court on Jan. 14.