The Associated Press
HARTSELLE, Ala. (AP) -- An eight-month investigation into a drug trafficking ring ended with the arrests of four men and the seizure of almost 70 pounds of marijuana in three counties.
Officers from Morgan, Madison and Cullman counties also seized $30,000 in cash, cocaine, weapons and drug paraphernalia, authorities announced Monday. The men are suspected of brining pot to Alabama from Texas.
Morgan County Sheriff Greg Bartlett said the discovery of marijuana in a home in Hartselle on Sunday led police to notify the Morgan County Drug Task Force, which then contacted the Morgan-Madison High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Agency.
Agency Commander Jim Winn said agents arrested two Huntsville men and two men from Texas following a brief chase in Huntsville.
“They threw 60 pounds of marijuana from the vehicle during the 40- to 50-mph pursuit,” he said.
Agents arrested Jeffrey Durkk Cagle, 19, and Marcus Wayne Johnson, 22, both of Huntsville, along with Texas residents Ricardo Javier Johnson 26, of Laredo and Roy Maurico, 33, of San Antonio.
All four men were held on drug trafficking charges, Bartlett said.