ALEXANDRIA, La. (WNTZ) – On January 25th, 2022, at approximately 10 pm, deputies assigned to the RADE Highway Interdiction Team conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for traffic violations on I-49 southbound near Airbase Road in Alexandria, LA. Deputies made contact with the occupants, identified as Alberto Martinez, 26 and Juan Carlos Martinez, 20, both of Saint Maria, CA. Alberto, who was operating the motor vehicle, was also found not to be in possession of a driver’s license.
As the deputies were speaking with the two individuals, they could smell the strong odor of what they believed to be Marijuana coming from the vehicle. The RADE canine “Izzy” was deployed and conducted a positive alert to narcotics in the bed of the vehicle. A search of the vehicle resulted in locating five large cardboard boxes that contained approximately 98 pounds of Marijuana.
Alberto Martinez and Juan Martinez were both taken into custody without incident and placed under arrest. Both subjects were transported and booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center where they both are being held, at the time of this release, on a $50,000.00 bond each.
RADE Agents responded to assist and say their investigation is still ongoing.
The Rapides Area Drug Enforcement (RADE) Unit is a multi-jurisdictional team comprised of the Alexandria Police Department, Ball Police Department, Boyce Police Department, Cheneyville Police Department, Forest Hill Police Department, Glenmora Police Department, Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office Lecompte Police Department, McNary Police Department, Pineville Police Department, Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office, Woodworth Police Department, Grant Parish District Attorney’s Office and the Rapides Parish District Attorney’s Office.
The RADE Unit continues to target individuals suspected of trafficking narcotics in the Central Louisiana area. If you have information or would like to report any narcotics activity, you may do so by sending direct messages to the Rapides Area Drug Enforcement Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RADEunit/