A Fayette County deputy sheriff and his K-9 partner made another major drug bust following a traffic stop along Interstate 10 in Texas. The $6.4 million drug seizure is the third major drug bust in less than one month for the duo.
Fayette County Deputy Sergeant Randy Thumann and his K-9 partner “Lobos” initiated a traffic stop on Interstate 10 near the eastbound 659 mile-marker at about 10:45 on Monday morning. During an interview with the driver, Thumann learned the driver was travelling from Mexico to Houston.
Thumann detected inconsistencies in the driver’s statements. He questioned the driver about narcotics and the driver became very nervous, according to a statement obtained by Breitbart Texas. The driver eventually gave consent to search the vehicle.
Deputy David Smith assisted Thumann with the search of the 2007 Chevy van. During the search, an aftermarket compartment was found in the floor of the van after removing the seats. The compartment was hidden under the carpet on the floor of the van.
The deputies found 8 kilos of suspected white Heroin. The value of the seizure was estimated to be $6.4 million.
The suspect, 54-year-old Andrea Hernandez-Gonzalez was arrested and transported to the Dan R. Beck justice center to await criminal charges.
Just last week, Thumann and Lobos disrupted another shipment of drugs headed for American cities. In this case, the law enforcement duo uncovered $1.3 million worth of methamphetamine that was hidden in fake fire extinguishers. Two weeks prior to that, Thumann and Lobos detected another shipment of meth that was hidden in modified compartments of a pickup truck. That shipment was estimated to be worth $1.6 million.
That brings the total of these three drug seizures to nearly $10 million in less than one month.
Sheriff Keith Korenek made drug interdiction and enforcement a priority for his department when he was first elected as the county’s sheriff in 2004. Thumann was hired as a deputy about that same time, Breitbart Texas learned during an interview with Sgt. Thumann in July. Thumann has been effective at interdicting not only the drugs, but the cash profits of the drug traffickers as well.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.