Yener Peña-Machado, a 41-year-old Miami resident, was arrested last week after Indiana State Police found around $1.1 million worth of illegal drugs while searching his semi-truck during a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Putnam County.
Court documents show that an ISP trooper pulled over a white Freightliner tractor-trailer driving eastbound near mile marker 41 on I-70 last Tuesday afternoon for a “motor carrier compliance inspection.”
ISP said that the driver, later identified as Peña-Machado, appeared “overly nervous and restless” while speaking with the trooper. Reportedly, his hands were “shaking uncontrollably” as he handed over documents.
The driver gave police a Florida Commercial Driver’s License and documents saying he was the president of Meteor Express Carrier.
The trooper then saw that Peña-Machado was supposed to be en route to Morris, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, to deliver refrigerated food.
When asked why he had driven nearly 200 miles in the wrong direction, Peña-Machado reportedly said he was distracted by a phone call with his wife and planned to turn around at the next truck stop.
ISP said that because Peña-Machado was making “nonsensical statements,” the trooper asked and was granted permission to search the semi.
During the search, ISP said the trooper found 70 pounds of cocaine, 45 pounds of marijuana and over $47,000 in cash. Police believed the drugs were en route from Los Angeles to Indianapolis.
A photo of the evidence seized by troopers, provided by ISP, can be seen below:
Court documents show that Peña-Machado was then arrested without incident. He was later booked into Putnam County Jail and preliminarily charged with two felonies, dealing narcotics and dealing marijuana.
However, Peña-Machado would not remain in jail long.
Online jail records show that Peña-Machado bonded out of the Putnam County Jail on Monday after paying a $40,000 cash bond. County officials have since confirmed he is no longer being held at the jail.
While it is unclear whether Peña-Machado is still in the state of Indiana, a pretrial conference in his case has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on May 22, 2024.
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