Routine Traffic Stop Yields More Than 17 Pounds Of Cocaine In Williamson County

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Williamson County deputies on Monday seized more than 17 pounds of cocaine in a routine traffic stop along Interstate 35, police said.

The bust happened at about 1 p.m. when deputies pulled over a 2007 Ford truck traveling north on I-35. the sole occupant identified as Jose Angel Rodriguez, 17, was initially pulled over for following too closely and driving in the left lane without passing, officials said in a press release.

Officials said they secured verbal consent to search the vehicle when they found eight kilos (17.6 pounds) of cocaine within a compartment in the car's interior. Rodriguez was promptly arrested for possession of cocaine, officials said.

Deputies provided no further details other than to note that a criminal investigation into the matter is ongoing.

The incident marks the second time in as many weeks that police have uncovered significant amounts of cocaine during what began as a routine traffic stop— both stops occurring in the same region along I-35.

On May 31, officers with the Austin Police Department pulled over another Ford truck along the 1000 block of North Interstate 35. With the aid of a drug-sniffing dog, officers said they found some 30 kilos of cocaine in the vehicle along with $4,400 in cash.

In that previous drug bust, driver Armando Lopez, 28, and passenger Rogelio Saucedo, Jr., 36, were promptly arrested and charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance.

Related story: North Austin Traffic Stop Yields More Than 60 Pounds Of Cocaine, $4K In Cash

>>> Photo of drugs seized Monday courtesy of Williamson County Sheriff's Office