Man busted with 15 pounds of pot

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Man busted with 15 pounds of pot



55 to 60 pounds of marijuana, 14 grams of cocaine and $180,646 were confiscated from the car and residence of Peter Valdez, 23, on May 17, 2006. A 3 month investigation lead to a traffic stop on Camino Lejo and then a search of the car some of the marijuana. A later search of his residence, a 501 Apodaca Hill produced the rest of the drugs. Valdez will be charged with one count of trafficking of a controlled substance and one count of distributions of a controlled substance.



Cops also confiscate more than $180,000 in cash from Peter Valdez

Police seized 15 pounds of marijuana and more than $180,000 in cash from a 23-year-old Santa Fe man after a traffic stop Wednesday on Santa Fe's east side.

Undercover narcotics detectives had been investigating Peter Valdez for two months before pulling him over about 7:30 p.m. on Camino Lejo in the Museum Hill area, said Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Stan Mascarenas.

After Valdez consented to a search of his 2000 Toyota Tacoma pickup, police found 10 pounds of marijuana and bundles of cash totaling $172,000, Mascarenas said. Valdez also allowed police to search his home at 501 Apodaca Hill, where they discovered an additional 5 pounds of marijuana, about $8,000 more in cash and 14 grams of cocaine, he said. The marijuana has a street value of between $55,000 and $60,000, while the cocaine is valued at about $1,400, Mascarenas said. The total amount of cash seized was $180,646, he said. "That's a great deal of money," Mascarenas said. "It's the most I've ever seen at one time."





He said he didn't know if Valdez was part of smuggling ring, a local drug-dealing operation or some combination of the two.

"The only thing provided to me was that the marijuana was not grown locally," Mascarenas said. "It's not the kind grown in this area."

He said he didn't expect any other arrests.

"Our agents deserve quite a bit of credit in ridding the community of a large amount of illegal drugs," Mascarenas said. "It's due to their dedication and hard work."

According to Santa Fe County Magistrate Court records, Valdez was charged with aggravated fleeing from police in April 2004, though the charge was dismissed two months later by the First Judicial District Attorney's Office.


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