Whitfield authorities seize over 500 pounds of marijuana and a BMW in raid

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

photo Authorities seized over 500 pounds of marijuana, guns, a BMW and more than $14,000 in cash after raiding a Whitfield County home on Monday.

Authorities seized over 500 pounds of marijuana, guns, a BMW and more than $14,000 in cash after raiding a Whitfield County home on Monday, according to a news release from the Whitfield County sheriff's department.

Florentino Hernandez-Padron and Benjamin Lopez-Zapata have been charged with trafficking in marijuana and are being held without bond since their arrest.

The investigation that led to the bust began in Brownsville, Texas last week when narcotics detection dogs indicated a large package at a UPS center might contain drugs. The package was addressed to a Whitfield County resident.

Officials opened the package and found 270 pounds of marijuana. U.S. Customs agents then contacted Whitfield authorities.

The package was shipped to Ringgold, where two men picked up the package and took it to a house on Dawnville Road. Authorities then arrested the two men.

The other items were found when authorities searched the home.

Read more about the investigation in tomorrow's Times Free Press.