Narcotics bust nets $1M in drug value

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) - It's not the first time a routine traffic stop resulted in officers finding bags of drugs in a vehicle, but this find was one of the largest in recent times.

On Wednesday morning, Williamson County Sheriff's deputies stopped the driver of a Chevrolet Tahoe for speeding and having a defective center brake light.

The driver, identified as Heriberto Madrid, 29, had no driver's license or an identification card, according to WCSO. In the vehicle with Madrid was a woman, identified as Hilda Madrid, and a 1-year-old baby.

By the end of the stop, which happened at 10:30 a.m., the deputy found more than 100 pounds of drugs, which included marijuana with a street value of about $20,000, and a quantity of crystal methamphetamine having a street value of about $1 million.

The deputy had Heriberto Madrid step outside of his vehicle, at the front of the patrol car, while he spoke with Hilda Madrid, who said she was his wife. She allegedly told the deputy they were driving to Dallas to go ice skating for the day before they headed to Laredo on Friday. The deputy saw that she was "extremely nervous," according to WCSO, and the deputy asked her if everything in the vehicle belonged to her. She allegedly told the officer, no, that only the purse was hers.

The deputy asked Hilda Madrid if there was anything illegal in the car, and she allegedly told him "not that she knew of."

During a conversation with Heriberto Madrid, the deputy asked him if there were any drugs in the vehicle, and the man said, "No," according to WCSO, and also said everything in the car belonged to him and not his wife. The deputy again asked Heriberto Madrid how many drugs were in the vehicle, and his response was that he didn't know. Eventually the man told the deputy that the drugs were in the back seat and the deputy asked him for permission to search his vehicle, and Heriberto Madrid gave consent, according to the deputy.

During a search of the vehicle, the deputy seized two duffel bags, one that had about 30 individually wrapped bundles of white crystal-type substance with a total weight of about 91 pounds. It was later confirmed to be crystal methamphetamine. The other bag contained one large brick of marijuana that weighed about 28 pounds.

Herberto Madrid was taken into custody and booked on federal charges of drug trafficking.