By Amy Sherrill, Times Record, (Crawford, Texas)
Van Buren, Ark. -- A South Carolina woman was arrested late Wednesday after Van Buren police found 14 pounds of cocaine in her vehicle, a police department spokesperson said Thursday.
Dorene Kay Bynoe, 38, of Goose Creek, S.C., was traveling east on Interstate 40 in a silver Nissan Altima at about 10:30 p.m. when she ran off the roadway near the two-mile marker, said Cpl. Rob Rogers of the Van Buren Police Department.
A Van Buren police officer who works as a highway interdiction officer became suspicious during the stop because of inconsistent statements made by Bynoe.
Authorities then used a K-9 unit to search the vehicle.
“The dog alerted, which gave him consent to search the vehicle,” Rogers said.
During the search, the police officer pulled a lever to bring down the back seat to look in the trunk. However, the weight of the seat was heavier than normal. Various glue smudges and screws on the seat were inconsistent with factory parts, Rogers said.
Police pulled the seat apart and found five bundles of cocaine hidden inside that weighed 14 pounds. The street value of the drug is estimated at $280,000, police said.
Various drug paraphernalia also was found.
Bynoe was booked in to the Crawford County Detention Center on suspicion of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving off the road on the right.