Indianapolis Police Seize Nearly 300 Pounds of Cocaine in Historic Bust

Indianapolis police seized nearly 300 pounds of cocaine in a history-making drug bust last month.

Detectives had received a tip that a large narcotics shipment would be passing through Marion County on Nov. 30, WXIN-TV reports. According to the tip, the drugs were being carried in a tractor-trailer with Texas license plates.

The tractor-trailer was found at a rest area along Interstate 70 in Hendricks County, and a K-9 located drugs in the vehicle. A search warrant was executed, and roughly 286 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $13 million.

“This is the largest seizure I’ve seen since I’ve been doing this work,” said Sgt. Paul McDonald, a member of the department's drug interdiction unit for 22 years. “We’ve had some significant seizures, but this is the largest.”

The 50-year-old driver was arrested by police and claimed he didn't know drugs—which were hidden in a false ceiling, held by ropes—were in the tractor-trailer. He allegedly was planning to make a legitimate delivery in Plainfield, but investigators don't know where the drugs were headed.

“We call it dope on a rope,” McDonald said. “That’s what this was. They had dope on a rope. We are fighting the war on drugs one kilo at a time. This one was a major seizure. Thank goodness we got this off the roads, and it’ll impact a lot of people in a lot of ways.”

DEA agents assisted in the arrest.