Indianapolis News and Headlines

Actions

Police find 500 pounds of marijuana in semi

Posted at 10:45 AM, Feb 02, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-03 15:49:29-05

FISHERS, Ind. -- Fishers police found more than 500 pounds of marijuana in a semi that had been parked at the Wal-Mart near 96th Street in Fishers Tuesday morning. 

A Fishers police officer noticed the semi around 4 a.m. Tuesday.

According to probable cause documents, he initially thought the semi had been opened and tampered with so he asked to check the semi trailer to see if anything had been stolen. He walked with the two people who were in the semi and looked in the back of the trailer. 

When he was inside, he saw 20 loose cardboard boxes along the driver's side. Behind those boxes were 25 pallets holding Nestle coffee creamer cardboard boxes. The officer determined nothing appeared to be missing from those boxes. 

When he looked at the 20 loose cardboard boxes, which were a different shape and size from the Nestle boxes, the officer noticed the tops of the boxes were not closed the same, and there was not any excess plastic wrap or wooden pallet that the boxes would have been stacked on. The officer wrote in the probable cause document that he began to believe it was no longer a theft investigation, but a drug trafficking investigation. 

After two other officers arrived, and the two men inside the truck signed a consent to search form, a K9 indicated there were drugs in the 20 loose boxes. 

The officer then opened one of the boxes and poked a hole in the wrapping and saw marijuana. The 20 loose boxes were taken to the Fishers Police Department. All of the boxes weighed 26.5 pounds, for a total of 530 pounds of marijuana. 

The officer then looked inside the passenger part of the semi and noticed a number of items that are often found with drug traffickers, according to the probable cause documents. 

In the driver's door pocket, the officer found a United States Navy Magnet. "I know from my training and experience that military magnets, as well as others magnets, are often used on vehicles by narcotics traffickers to attempt to outwardly display that they are good guys and not involved in criminal activity," the officer wrote in the document. 

In the driver's overhead compartment, the officer found a San Cristobal religious card. "I know from my training and experience that narcotics traffickers are superstitious and use religious paraphernalia as a sign of good luck to keep them safe from law enforcement during their trafficking to and from destinations," he wrote. 

The two men were taken to the Fishers Police Department.

After speaking with both men, investigators determined only the driver knew about the marijuana.

According to the probable cause documents, the driver, identified as Isaac Robert Aristiga Bojorquez, 25, of Mexico, admitted that while he was in Mexico, he reached out to people he knew in hopes of making some quick cash. After meeting with someone, he was then told to travel to California to pick up an unknown shipment for delivery. He then drove to Fontana, California where he picked up his co-driver. 

They left and started driving the shipment to Anderson, Indiana. When they go to Indiana, Bojorquez started receiving phone calls telling him to make a stop before driving the shipment to Nestle. Bojorquez drove to the Wal-Mart in Fishers. When he arrived, he was told to wait until a black truck arrived. At approximately, 1:30 a.m., two men in a black pickup truck arrived and told him to turn off the semi.

According to the probable cause documents, Bojorquez said the men arrived with a hammer, pliers, and a screw driver. The men opened the truck and then started moving boxes toward the doors. Bojorquez told police he saw the men back the black truck up to the trailer and then drive away three separate times. After the third time, Bojorquez told police they left and never returned. Shortly after the third time, police arrived. 

Bojorquez told police his co-driver had no knowledge of what was occurring. He allegedly told police he was going to receive $10,000 when he returned to California. He also allegedly stated that he believed the boxes that the men were moving contained marijuana. 

After talking with police, Bojorquez was arrested and transported to the Hamilton County Jail. He has been charged with intent to deliver marijuana over 5 pounds, which is a Level 5 Felony. 

The semi is unaffiliated with Wal-Mart -- it was not  making a delivery or picking anything up.

-----

Download the new and improved RTV6 app to get the latest news on the go and receive alerts to your phone

Sign up to have the latest news headlines delivered straight to your email inbox