NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Law enforcement officials seized about 119 pounds of cocaine and 100 bundles of cash in a Newport News bust that led to the arrest of four men, according to WTKR.
Police arrested 49-year old Marvin O’Neal Carter, Sr., 49-year old Daniel Rodriguez, 50-year-old Hilario Rodriguez, and 42-year-old Michael Kuna for their alleged involvement in a large-scale cocaine trafficking conspiracy.
The men were charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.
Agents saw a tractor-trailer leased by Carter arrive at a garage on Thursday, according to court documents. The trailer eventually off-loaded from its dock and was placed beside the garage. Agents s said they witnessed Kuna, and Daniel and Hilario Rodriguez arrive and park in Carter’s garage parking lot.
The four men then unloaded cocaine from hidden compartments underneath the trailer, according to court documents.
Kuna was loaded two large duffel bags into a vehicle before leaving the area, officials said. Law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on Kuna and found the two duffel bags.
Officials found wet currency within the bags.
While Kuna was detained, members of the DEA, FBI, and Newport News Police executed federal search warrants on the garage and trailer.
The search turned up the cocaine and cash in $5,000 and $10,000 stacks, officials said.
Authorities also recovered a firearm and heroin, in addition to $42,000 in cash from a safe.
Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a max sentence of life in prison if convicted.
The men are scheduled to make their initial appearances Friday at 4 p.m. at the federal courthouse in Norfolk.
