The Associated Press
NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - When two garbage collectors decided their truck smelled worse than usual, they decided to check it out, and wound up in the middle of a major marijuana bust.
Their keen senses of smell took over after a man took it upon himself to toss a half-dozen garbage bags into the back of the truck Tuesday.
“The person I was working with said, `It smells real bad back there,”’ said the garbage truck driver, who declined to give his name.
They decided to rip open the bags to see what was inside, and discovered the bags were filled with piles of clear cellophane wrapping laced with green, leafy residue.
“It was just the little crumbs left in it,” the driver said. “I said, `That’s pot.”’
Their discovery led police to Steven Montbleau, 31, is accused of storing 161 pounds of marijuana in his basement and $182,881 in cash in a cooler in his bedroom closet.
Police said the marijuana has a street value of roughly $161,000.
Detective Lt. Bruce Hansen it was one of the biggest marijuana raids in years.
“I’ve been here for 10 years, and I don’t think we’ve had one this big since I’ve been here,” Hansen said.
Montbleau, who is originally from Lowell, Mass., was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell. He faces $200,000 in fines and up to 20 years in state prison, if convicted.
Police also found four Ecstasy pills, and charged him with possession, which carries a seven-year sentence.
Montbleau was being held on $250,000 cash bail at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections in Manchester.
He has no criminal record in New Hampshire, but was arrested in 1995 on an unrelated drug offense in Massachusetts.