News

January 9, 2004
Officers detect sophisticated smuggling system
Bedford County officials say they made their biggest drug bust after uncovering a high-tech hiding spot

by Jay Conley
The Roanoke Times

BEDFORD—A routine traffic stop in Bedford County just after Christmas has yielded the the largest drug bust in Bedford County history, authorities said.

In a news conference Thursday, Sheriff Mike Brown announced that investigators had recovered 6.5 kilograms of cocaine that had been carefully hidden in a remote-control operated compartment of a Roanoke man's 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe.

Brown's office said it's the kind of ingenious concealment used by criminals busted in major cities that are featured on the television program "Cops."

"This is significant," Brown said. "It's a major bust."

The cocaine was vacuum sealed in plastic bags and covered with mustard to hide its tell tale scent from drug-sniffing dogs. Investigators weren't sure if the mustard was the high-priced Grey Poupon or the standard yellow hot dog variety.

The sheriff's office said an investigator found the cocaine a week after authorities arrested Jermaine Vidal Niblet, 23, of the 3700 block of Signal Hill Road. Deputies stopped Niblet in his vehicle Dec. 28 around 1:30 a.m. at a routine driver's license checkpoint to examine driver's licenses on Hardy Road near the Hardy Road Trailer Park.

Niblet's license had expired, and the North Carolina tags on his Tahoe were also invalid, Brown said.

Authorities then checked his vehicle and found a digital scale with cocaine residue on it, a Glock 40-caliber handgun and about $7,400 in cash, Brown said. Niblet was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon while possessing a controlled substance, Brown said.

Deputies impounded the SUV and obtained search warrants for it after they learned from the Drug Enforcement Administration that Niblet had a reputation for drug involvement, sheriff's investigator Collin Byrne said.

The first search of the vehicle turned up nothing, and drug-sniffing dogs didn't smell anything suspicious either. But on the second search, on a hunch, Byrne dismantled the left rear taillight and discovered a hidden compartment inside the SUV's body. He said he found 6.5 kilograms of cocaine wrapped in bulk in the compartment and a little more than $25,000 in cash.

The taillight had a sophisticated hinge on it that could be operated by remote control.

"This wasn't just something you could do in your garage," he said. "It was real professional job."

The street value of the cocaine is estimated at $1.2 million, Brown said. Previous drug busts in the county pale in comparison, he said.

Niblet was charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance along with the firearms charge and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the charges. He is being held without bond in the Blue Ridge Regional Detention Center.