Howe Officers seize kilo of methamphetamine

According to a Howe Police Department press release, two of their officers seized over two pounds of methamphetamine during a traffic stop on U.S. Hwy 75 early Monday Morning.

Chief Carl Hudman reported that on January 23, 2017 around 1:13 am, Howe PD Detective Keith Milks and Officer Oscar Martinez stopped a vehicle on Northbound U.S. Hwy 75 for a traffic violation.  After speaking with the driver and passenger and noticing nervousness and conflicting travel plans between the two occupants, Milks asked for consent to search the car.  Officer Martinez, who is fluent in Spanish, translated for Det. Milks during the encounter.  The 25-year-old passenger claimed ownership of the car and granted the officers’ request to search.

Det. Milks found a large clear bag of a crystallized substance that he believed was methamphetamine secreted in an area under the car’s passenger side windshield wiper base.  After the officers removed the bag, they field-tested a portion of the substance and it tested positive for methamphetamine.  It had a total weight of 2.75 pounds.

Officers also seized a set of digital scales from inside the car, less than a gram of cocaine from the 27-year-old driver’s wallet and 1.4 grams of methamphetamine from the passenger.

Officers seized $1,871.00 in currency from the suspects and intend to file civil forfeiture proceedings against it.  According to Chief Carl Hudman “This is the largest drug seizure by Howe officers in many years, if not the largest ever.”  He estimated the street-value of the drugs to be anywhere from $90,000 – $100,000”.

Arrestees:

Pablo Garcia-Camacho

Guadalupe Oriz-Martinez