LEXINGTON, Neb.— Today, Governor Jim Pillen, Lt. Governor Joe Kelly, and Attorney General Mike Hilgers praised the Nebraska State Patrol following two high-profile criminal interdiction cases this month. In the two cases, troopers have taken nearly 20,000 pounds of drugs off the street and recovered a semi-trailer full of stolen electronics and other items in separate incidents this month in Dawson County.
“The Nebraska State Patrol is a tremendous law enforcement agency. Our troopers do amazing work to keep us safe – through their patrols in the air, as well as on the ground,” said Governor Jim Pillen. “Both of these seizures happened because our troopers are highly trained and are ready to investigate when it appears criminal activity is underway.”
The first incident occurred Friday, September 4, at approximately 8:00 a.m., when a trooper performed a traffic stop on a semi near mile marker 228 on I-80. During the traffic stop, the trooper performed a commercial vehicle inspection and detected the odor of marijuana.
Troopers searched the vehicle and located thousands of pounds of marijuana, THC products, and psilocybin products in the semi-trailer. In total, there were 27 pallets of boxes in the trailer containing the products. The packages contained a total of approximately 5,200 pounds of marijuana, 13,600 pounds of THC products, and 1,000 pounds of psilocybin products. The street value of the drugs has been estimated at over $50 million. NSP believes this is the largest volume drug interdiction in agency history.
The driver, William Gomez, 44, of Virginia, was arrested for possession of controlled substances and possession with intent to deliver. He was lodged in Dawson County Jail.
The second incident happened Wednesday, September 9. That evening, NSP was alerted that a semi in Nebraska may be transporting professional speaker equipment, valued at $250,000, that had been reported stolen. At approximately 5:30 p.m., a trooper located the semi parked at a truck stop near Gothenburg. The trooper contacted the driver and discovered that the driver’s commercial delivery paperwork was false. The driver was placed out of service and not allowed to continue driving.
Troopers obtained a search warrant for the trailer. A search of the trailer revealed that approximately half of the trailer contained miscellaneous items that were intended for Walmart facilities in Florida. The other half of the trailer contained the high-end commercial speakers that were destined for Las Vegas, NV. Further investigation led to the discovery that all the items had been stolen from Illinois and New York. Investigators are still working to determine the total value of the stolen items, but the speakers alone have an estimated value of $250,000.
After being placed out of service, the driver absconded. An arrest warrant has been issued for the driver, who was identified as Ashwani Kumar, by his New Jersey Non-Domicile CDL.
“These two investigations are excellent examples of troopers looking beyond the initial traffic stop for indicators of criminal activity,” said Colonel Bryan Waugh, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “The troopers involved in these investigations have not only uncovered crimes, but they’ve prevented further criminal activity that would have occurred if these two semis reached their intended destinations. Their work has made communities safer by interrupting multiple criminal enterprises.”
Both investigations remain ongoing.
“I think it’s a reminder to all of us – this drug trade is international, it’s national, it’s ongoing. It doesn’t slow up and the tactics change all the time,” noted Lt. Governor Joe Kelly. “And thank God the Nebraska State Patrol is there, always trying to stay ahead of this game.”
Speaking as a member of Nebraska’s greater law enforcement community, Attorney General Mike Hilgers praised the work of the State Patrol, especially for pulling a record amount of drugs off the streets.
“The intelligence, the training, the work ethic, the curiosity, the deploying of their skills and their training for the betterment of the community and for Nebraskans, I think is why it is an incredible organization — for my money the best law enforcement agency in the country. It’s an organization we are proud to support and proud to be collaborators with.”
