St. Lucie County detectives seized more than three kilograms of powder cocaine, a haul put at over 6.6 pounds, during a traffic stop on northbound I-95 near Indrio Road on Tuesday.
Anthony Williams, 47, and Alexandria Browne, 51, both of Owings Mills, Maryland, were arrested and charged with trafficking in cocaine. CW34 reported that the sheriff's office said both were being held at the St. Lucie County Jail on $250,000 bonds, after a stop involving the Special Investigations Division, patrol deputies and the Florida Highway Patrol.
The Indrio interchange has produced a larger seizure before. In September 2018, TCPalm reported that a two-day traffic-enforcement operation near Indrio Road and Interstate 95 led to 15 arrests and at least 8 pounds of cocaine. Investigators found about 8 pounds after stopping a Ford pickup around 11:20 p.m. that Thursday, and Sheriff's Lt. Frank Pellegrini valued that cocaine at about $140,000.
Richard Del Toro praised the detectives, deputies and Highway Patrol troopers on this week's stop and described the arrests as an example of strong partnerships and proactive enforcement. He said drug trafficking has no place in St. Lucie County and that the sheriff's office will keep targeting the people involved and hold them accountable.
The office's own account of the night shift was less procedural. It said deputies, fueled by coffee, had warned criminals not to test them, that apparently not everyone got the message, and that the coffee worked. Williams and Browne were charged with trafficking and booked into the county jail on those $250,000 bonds.
