B.C. traffic stop for speeding vehicle leads to seizure of $10K, 350 grams of illicit cannabis

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A speeding driver that attracted the attention of B.C. Highway Patrol (BCHP) is under investigation after officers seized $10,000 in cash and 350 grams of illicit cannabis from the vehicle.

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The stop occurred near Williams Lake, in the central interior of B.C., after the driver was observed speeding on Highway 97, Castanet reports.

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Citing a police news release, BCHP Sgt. Jason Nash took the opportunity to remind drivers that a cannabis product “cannot be transported in a vehicle unless it was purchased at a licensed facility, is sealed in its original packaging and is out of reach of the driver and any passengers.”

The investigation is ongoing.

Under the federal Cannabis Act, Canadians can possess a maximum of 30 grams (about one ounce) of dried cannabis in public at any time.

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It is far from the first time that traffic violations have led to drug busts.

Last month, a speeding driver in Ontario was stopped by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), which led to officers seizing suspected fentanyl, cocaine and cannabis.

The OPP officers also seized cellphones, digital scales, an edged weapon and more than $6,000 in cash. Both the driver and a passenger are facing charges.

In July, two 20-year-old men were charged with numerous offences by Orillia OPP after an alleged traffic violation caught their attention. Initially arrested for stunt driving, a search of the vehicle led to the seizure of a “large quantity” of both cannabis and cocaine.

The two men face five and six charges, respectively. They were each charged with possession of a Schedule 1 substance for the purposes of trafficking (cocaine) and possession and distribution of illicit cannabis. The vehicle was also impounded for 14 days.

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Not to be outdone, this past March, a 56-year-old Alberta man was stopped for speeding only for officers to find 440 cannabis plants in his vehicle. He was charged with speeding as well as distributing budding or flowering plants.

Last year, a routine traffic stop near Wahoo, Nebraska, turned into a record-setting cannabis bust for the Saunders County Sheriff’s Office.

After a deputy stopped a speeding vehicle on Nebraska Highway 92 towing a U-Haul trailer, a K-9 unit was called in and the dog’s dependable nose sniffed out 358 vacuum-sealed bags of cannabis with a total weight of nearly 181 kilograms.

“This is probably the largest case that I can ever recall, and I’ve been around here a number of years,” said Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz.

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