He was stopped for not using turn signals. Police said he was dealing cocaine
A Miami cocaine dealer was jailed Monday morning after bringing more than six ounces of the drug into the Florida Keys, police said.
Lazaro Rodriguez, 43, was arrested on a felony charge of cocaine trafficking after being stopped on U.S. 1 near 63rd Street in Marathon at about 9:09 a.m.
Rodriguez was stopped in a 2014 Ford Explorer after police said he was weaving and changing lanes without using a turn signal.
The K-9 named Coral was brought to the scene and alerted deputies to drugs in the vehicle, said Adam Linhardt, the spokesman for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Two vacuum-sealed bags were found under the hood next to the radiator, according to the police report.
About 6.1 ounces of cocaine and $3,074 in cash, which deputies suspected came from drug sales, were found in the Explorer, Linhardt said.
A woman was a passenger in the SUV. Rodriguez said the cocaine was his and that he buys it in Miami for $1,000 an ounce and sells it in the Keys for $1,500 an ounce, police said.
The passenger was not charged.
On Tuesday, Rodriguez remained in Monroe County Jail on Stock Island, being held without bond.
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