A traffic stop on I-40 near Aviation Parkway in Raleigh turned into a major narcotics bust last week, after Wake County deputies say they found three kilograms of cocaine and an illegal handgun inside a car driven by 23-year-old Jacob Ramos, then uncovered another 11 kilograms of cocaine when they searched his home. By the time the investigation wrapped, two men were behind bars on $1 million bonds each, facing trafficking charges that could send them to prison for years.
According to WRAL, deputies pulled Ramos over on Oct. 7 and brought in a K9 officer, who helped locate the cocaine and the weapon hidden in the vehicle. That discovery gave investigators the grounds to search Ramos's home, where they say they turned up the bulk of the stash — 11 more kilograms, bringing the total haul to over 14 kilograms.
Ramos was arrested and charged with two counts of trafficking cocaine, carrying a concealed weapon, and two traffic violations: driving without a license and a window tint violation, per the station's report. A second man, 29-year-old Juan Valderrama-Beltran, was also charged with two counts of trafficking cocaine in connection with the case. Both men are being held at the Wake County Detention Center on $1 million bond, the report notes.
Multiple Agencies Joined the Investigation
The case did not stay local for long. The Wake County Sheriff's Office was assisted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, Cary police, and the Guilford County Sheriff's Office, according to the same account — a sign of how far the investigation's reach extended beyond a single traffic stop.
Under North Carolina law, the stakes for Ramos and Valderrama-Beltran are significant. State statute makes it unlawful to manufacture, sell, deliver or possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute it, according to North Carolina General Statutes. The same statute classifies the sale of a Schedule I or II controlled substance as a Class G felony, while a violation involving cocaine possession is punishable as a Class I felony.
Part of a Broader Pattern Across the State
This bust lands amid a string of large-scale drug seizures across North Carolina in recent months. In Catawba County, authorities seized more than $900,000 worth of methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl from a Granite Falls residence, according to myfox8.com. That investigation, which began in February when the Catawba County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Division started looking into suspected traffickers in the area, led to the arrests of two people — one held on a $1.2 million bond and the other on a $450,000 bond with a court date set for Nov. 13.
No additional details have emerged about the circumstances behind Ramos's concealed-weapon charge, and it remains unclear whether either defendant has retained an attorney or entered a plea. For now, the Wake County case stands as one of the more significant single-stop cocaine seizures reported in the Raleigh area this year, with both men remaining in custody as the trafficking charges move through the courts.
