A tractor-trailer’s driver from Illinois was arrested Wednesday night in Jasper County after a state trooper reportedly discovered 457 pounds of marijuana in the sleeper of his cab.
An eastbound truck, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, was stopped about 8 p.m. near the 16-mile marker of Interstate 44 in Jasper County for a safety-compliance check. Authorities said the commercial-vehicle enforcement trooper who made the stop discovered the marijuana in several large duffel bags in the sleeper of the truck.
Thomas E. Watkins, 44, of Madison, Ill., was arrested and taken to the Jasper County Jail in Carthage. He was charged Thursday with second-degree drug trafficking.
