A New Mexico man has been arrested in Texarkana after police found more than 175 pounds of marijuana hidden in a diesel fuel tank in the bed of his truck.
Francisco Gutierrez, 30, of Anthony, New Mexico was arrested on a charge of possession of marijuana (greater than 50 pounds). His bail was set at $10,000 and remains in custody, said Shawn Vaughn, spokesman for Texarkana, Texas, Police Department.
Officers Austin Butts and Jerrika Weaver arrested Gutierrez after they discovered the marijuana hidden in a diesel fuel tank in the bed of his truck.
Officer Butts stopped Gutierrez for a traffic violation last Friday night. Gutierrez told him that he was in Texarkana to buy a $50,000 welder but he didn't have any money or identification with
him.
The more that the officers talked to him, the less his story made sense, Vaughn said. They soon became suspicious that he had illegal drugs in the vehicle, so they asked a Texarkana, Ark., Police Department K-9 officer to assist them. As the handler walked the dog around the truck several times, he repeatedly indicated that he smelled drugs toward the back of the
vehicle. The officers then opened the cap on the fuel tank in the bed of the truck and could see the packages inside. They placed Gutierrez under arrest and transported him to the Bi-State
jail.
The officers later found a trap door in the bottom of the toolbox that accessed the fuel tank and removed 166 vacuum sealed bricks of
marijuana.