By Michael Sangiacomo
January 19, 2010, 10:39AM
TOLEDO, Ohio – Two men are to be arraigned today on drug charges in connection with 44 pounds of cocaine seized by the State Highway Patrol in a traffic stop.
Audel Rios, 31, of Meriden, Conn., and his passenger, Christian Paul Carrillo-Meza, 27, of Mexico, were charged with aggravated possession of cocaine, and aggravated trafficking.
The patrol stopped a 2005 truck towing a flatbed trailer without registration at 1:14 p.m. Friday on the Ohio Turnpike.
"Troopers observed criminal indicators and a patrol drug-sniffing canine alerted to the vehicle," according to a news release. "A probable cause search revealed 20 kilos of cocaine. The suspects were incarcerated in the Lucas County Jail."
Police said each suspect faces up to 20 years in prison and a $40,000 fine, if convicted.
The patrol put the street value of the cocaine at $2 million. Ohio HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) - the federal group that coordinated law enforcement efforts in the state - said that much cocaine would be worth about $620,000.
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