Man accused of hauling thousands of pounds of marijuana arrested in New Mexico – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

GALLUP, N.M. (KRQE) – Even though cannabis is allowed in New Mexico, what one truck driver was found with was far from legal. Dozens of duffle bags filled with marijuana were found in one truck driver’s trailer as he was crossing into New Mexico from Arizona on Interstate 40.

The driver, Tewelde Ghebreyoyanes, told officers he didn’t check what was inside the trailer he was hauling. On April 23, New Mexico State Police were dispatched early in the morning to the Gallup port of entry for a possible drug possession.

Ghebreyoyanes did not have clear answers for the police about who he was hauling the trailer for. He told police he was driving from California to Virginia. He said he normally checks outside and inside a trailer, but when he picked up this one, he claimed he didn’t look to see what was inside.

After police searched the truck and trailer, they found stacks of money, 70 duffle bags weighing about 3,500 pounds, a medium bag weighing 16 pounds, and seven boxes weighing 55 pounds; all filled with marijuana and no paperwork, or indication of where it came from.

In New Mexico, the legal limit for an individual to possess marijuana is eight ounces. Ghebreyoyanes is set to be charged with trafficking, conspiracy to commit trafficking, and two counts of possession of cannabis products in public.