SHELBY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Three men have been arrested after more than 15 pounds of cocaine were found during a traffic stop, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office reports.
On Thursday, March 26, CCSO’s Community Interdiction Team (CIT) stopped a vehicle on Highway 74 near Old Boiling Springs Rd. in Shelby.
Deputies say they found 15.85 lbs. of cocaine and $20,198 in cash during the traffic stop. The cocaine has a street value of $180,000. Authorities did not say what tipped off deputies to the drugs. The following were arrested:
- Armando Loya-Cendjas, 47, of Pasco, Washington
- Felony Conspiracy to Traffic in Cocaine
- $300,000 Secured Bond
- Alejandro Inurereta Cordova, 24, of Olmito, Texas
- Felony Trafficking in Cocaine – Two-counts
- Misdemeanor Resisting a Public Officer
- $400,000 Secured Bond
- Diego Emir Ojeda-Sanchez, 22, of Lexington, Kentucky
- Felony Trafficking in Cocaine – Two-counts
- Misdemeanor Resisting a Public Officer
- $400,000 Secured Bond
“The Sheriff’s Office will continue to make drug investigations a high priority,” Sheriff Alan Norman said. “The violence associated with drug dealing is also a huge concern of mine, and those dealers who possess guns during drug transactions will be a very high priority.”
Sheriff Norman asks that anyone with information on drug dealers call 704-484-4987.
