Cedar Park Police Seize 14 Pounds Of Cocaine During Traffic Stop

CEDAR PARK, TX -- A 45-year-old man remains behind bars on a $400,000 bond after police found 14 pounds of cocaine in his vehicle during a Cedar Park traffic stop.

Marcos Chavez-Ayala was arrested March 4, but details only emerged Monday as to the nature of the arrest. According to an arrest affidavit cited by KVUE-TV, a Cedar Park police officer began to pursue the suspect’s 2007 Nissan after getting an assist call from the Austin Police Department. The driver of the vehicle being followed by police turned from Park Street onto Old U.S. 183 and then onto North Bell Boulevard without engaging the turn signal.

Shortly afterwards, APD and Cedar Park police stopped the car at the 3000 block of FM 1431. A specially trained canine alerted officers to the odor of narcotics in the back portion of the vehicle.

Chavez-Ayala and a passenger were detained as a result while the vehicle was taken to a city maintenance facility for inspection. There, police found a modified compartment in the rear wheel well containing a dozen taped bundles of cocaine, collectively weighing 14 pounds.

Chavez-Ayala was booked into the Williamson County Jail on a charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

According to Narcotic News, a kilogram of cocaine -- a little over two pounds -- is valued at roughly $30,000, although prices fluctuate depending on region. The $30,000-per-kilogram price can be fetched in places like New York City, but can be bought for somewhat cheaper in urban areas.

By that measure, the cocaine seized in Cedar Park is valued at more than $200,000 on the open market.