From the Tennessee Highway Patrol –
On 6/06/2022, a trooper assigned to the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) Interdiction Plus (I-Plus) was patrolling Interstate 40, around the 125-mile marker in Decatur County.
The trooper stopped a white GMC flatbed pulling a cargo trailer for a traffic violation. The driver informed the trooper that he was hired three days prior to transport the trailer and its contents from California to North Carolina, leave the trailer at a hotel, and return to California.
A consent to search was granted and the driver opened the trailer doors. The trooper observed a Volvo SUV covered in thick dust and old bedroom furniture wrapped in cellophane.
Additional I-Plus troopers arrived to assist. After off-loading the vehicle from the trailer, troopers deployed a K-9 around the vehicle and received a positive alert.
As the troopers continued their investigation, they observed abnormalities under the vehicle on the cross-member brace, transmission pan and oil pan.
In furtherance of the investigation, the vehicle was transported to a local shop, where troopers removed the transmission pan. During the investigation, 10-kilo packages were found inside a hollowed-out transmission.
The oil pan was then removed, and troopers then located nine additional kilo packages inside a hollowed-out engine.
The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was contacted and arrived on the scene to assist. The DEA will be presenting the case for federal adoption. One of the kilo packages tested positive for a mixture of cocaine and fentanyl.
The 19-kilo bricks weighed approximately 44 pounds.
The driver was Roman Guzman Jr., age 23 from California. The passenger was Mordecai D. Yusef, age 18, from California.
Both were charged with Possession of Schedule II with intent to resale, operating a commercial motor vehicle not marked in accordance, no record of duty status, USDOT Number not displayed, and Failure Exercise Due Care.
Both subjects were transported to the Decatur County Jail.
