Authorities found what they say is about $750,000 worth of what appears to be cocaine.
By James Irby, ABC13 Eyewitness News
A combination of luck and timing are being credited for a drug bust in northeast Houston worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Going on a hunch, undercover detectives followed a van, only to discover that inside was 20 kilos of cocaine. The suspects in the van suspects were chased to a Texaco station off of I-45 and North Main.
At that point, the suspects all bailed out of their vehicles. Some suspects even tried to run across the freeway, dodging cars along the way to get away from police and avoid this major bust.
“I was, like man, what is happening here,” said eyewitness Amir Sikander.
It was right in front of Sikander’s gas station where it all came to an end in a sea of flashing lights.
“I saw a couple of cops chasing a white van. All of a sudden, two guys jumped out of the van; started running on the other side of the freeway,” said Sikander.
Houston police chased down those men just before those officers had a run in with another vehicle - a red pick up truck that’d been tailing the white van.
“The red car ran one of the officers over onto the road into the grass. At that point, they attempted to flee,” said Sgt. Steve Leatherman with the Houston Police Department.
A total of four suspects were tracked down and taken into custody, but one got away.
Once the white van was opened up, investigators say it was clear why the men were running. They found 20-30 kilos of what appeared to be cocaine, plus a loaded assault rifle and a loaded pistol on the front seat.
Authorities began tailing the van in the first place after it sped across a lawn in northeast Houston, being chased by that red truck. Undercover officers had had the area under surveillance since Monday. Around 9:30 pm Thursday night, they called for backup and the chase led to the Texaco station where the suspects all bailed out of the vehicles.
As it turns out, authorities say the van had been involved in a home invasion on the northeast side. The people following in the red pick up were apparently the homeowners.
The trailer beside the home apparently contained what the suspects were after - at least another 12 kilos of what authorities believe to be cocaine.
If fact, if the substances found in those vehicles are cocaine, the street value is easily up to $750,000.