A routine traffic stop in Maysville last week resulted in the arrest of a driver illegally transporting marijuana plants.
Maysville Police Chief Paul Bush stopped a van for traveling 44 mph in a 35 mph zone near 6th and Williams Street around 2 p.m. Friday afternoon. Bush said as he approached the driver’s window, he detected the smell of marijuana plants. The driver, Yong Qiu Chen, told Bush he was transporting “baby trees.” Bush asked if he had a transport license for the “trees.” Additional investigation confirmed Chen was transporting 187 marijuana plants without the proper paperwork.
Officers also found more than $3,000 in cash in Chen’s possession. According to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case, Chen told officers he had been hired to drive the plants to Atoka, Okla.
Chen was arrested and charged with cultivation of a controlled substance. He has since posted a $3,500 cash bond and been released.
A female passenger in the van has not been charged.
Agents with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and the Garvin County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the stop.
