PELL CITY, ALABAMA - A traffic stop on Interstate 20 in east Alabama turned up a large cocaine stash and the arrest of a Georgia man for drug trafficking. <br>
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St. Clair County Sheriff Terry Surles said bundles of cocaine seized from the vehicle could be worth more than $400,000 on the street. <br>
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Joel Mario Pimentel Sosa, 31, of Roswell, Ga., was arrested Friday on drug charges. His vehicle had been stopped by police for having expired Florida license plates. <br>
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The sheriff says the cocaine was tucked behind a rear side panel of the vehicle. <br>
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If convicted on the drug trafficking charge, Sosa could be sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined up to $250,000. <br>
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I-20 between Birmingham and Atlanta has become a major thoroughfare for drugs, says Pell City Police Detective Cary Ward, who was with the group of officers patrolling the stretch of interstate. <br>
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Last week, the Riverside Police Department, near Pell City, seized 213 pounds of marijuana with a street value estimated at $615,000. <br>
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And the week before that, Riverside police netted 13 pounds of marijuana and $115,000 in cash that is believed to be cocaine money.
