Columbia police find 12,000 doses of cocaine, fentanyl during traffic stop
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Boone County prosecutors charged two Florida men Monday after police said they found more than 12,000 doses of a cocaine-fentanyl mixture during a traffic stop.
Prosecutors charged Cristian Naranjo-Usuga and Jorge Ochoa-Bernal with drug trafficking.
According to court documents, a police officer started following a car on Interstate 70 in west Columbia just before 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Police said the vehicle quickly exited the interstate onto Stadium Boulevard. Shortly after, the officer pulled the car over near Bernadette Drive.
The officer said he used a translator app to speak with the men because they did not speak English. Police said the men gave conflicting stories about where they were coming from and going. This prompted the officer to ask to search the car.
According to the probable cause statement, the officer found a plastic bag with a white powdery substance shaped like a brick. The substance weighed 1,215 grams and tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl. Investigators said this amounts to 12,150 user doses.
Investigators said that Ochoa-Bernal told them he and Naranjo-Usuga flew to Los Angeles from Orlando to buy the cocaine for $18,000 and planned to sell it for a profit on their way to Indiana.
Court documents stated the suspects are not citizens of the United States.
Both men are in the Boone County Jail without bond, according to jail records.
Online court records show Ochoa-Bernal was scheduled to be in court for an initial appearance Tuesday afternoon. Naranjo-Usuga had an initial arraignment hearing on Monday. Court records show he's due back in court Thursday afternoon.
