PORTER COUNTY, Ind. — The Indiana State Police says they seized 11 pounds of cocaine during a traffic stop during the recent snowstorm on Monday in Porter County.
A trooper was on S.R. 49 when he observed a gray Jeep Grand Cherokee traveling at a high rate of speed despite snow and ice-covered roads. The area where this occurred is also a construction zone. After initially failing to stop, the driver finally pulled over on the ramp to U.S. 30. The driver, 35-year-old Daniel Aguilar Ramirez of Knox, IN, presented a California driver’s license to troopers.
During the traffic stop, Ramirez gave inconsistent statements as to his route of travel and destination. A K-9, who is trained and certified in the detection of illegal drugs, conducted a free air sniff of the vehicle and gave a positive alert to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed an Amazon box which contained four vacuum-sealed, brick-shaped packages, consistent with packaging used in drug trafficking. A field test produced a positive result for cocaine.
Ramirez was taken into custody and transported to the Porter County Jail where he is being held on an immigration detainer for ICE as it was determined that Ramirez is an illegal alien. He is also charged locally with dealing cocaine.