HARRISON COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) — Harrison County Sheriff Matt Haley announced multiple arrests tied to significant cocaine seizures.
On Thursday, August 14, a deputy stopped a black Chevrolet van on Interstate 10 East near the 28-mile marker in Gulfport for a traffic violation. The driver, 32-year-old Hector Rodriguez-Valdez, raised suspicion of drug trafficking. A narcotics-detecting canine alerted to narcotics inside the vehicle.
A search uncovered a hidden compartment within lumber in the van containing 118 pounds of cocaine. The Department of Homeland Security Investigations was notified.
Rodriguez-Valdez, along with passengers 26-year-old Bryan Rodriguez-Valdez and 26-year-old Raul Quijas-Aguero, all from Mexico, were arrested on federal drug trafficking charges. They remain held without bond at the Harrison County Jail, pending federal proceedings. The U.S. Border Patrol also placed federal immigration holds on them.
In an unrelated incident on Friday, August 15, Harrison County’s Criminal Interdiction Patrol stopped a vehicle at the 35-mile marker on I-10 East in Gulfport. Deputies found 4.4 pounds of cocaine in the luggage of 47-year-old Christopher Gill from Florida, who was arrested on felony drug trafficking charges.
Judge Fountain set a $250,000 bond for Gill. The DEA was notified.
