Pubdate: Tue, 22 Jul 2003
Source: Town Talk, The  (Alexandria, LA)
Copyright: 2003sThe Town Talk
Contact:  http://www.thetowntalk.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1027
Author: Mandy M. Goodnight

HIGH OCTANE: GAS TANK OF AUCTIONED TRUCK HIDES 200 POUNDS OF MARIJUANA

BUNKIE -- A local car dealership found more than gas in the tank of one its 
trucks Monday.

The service crew at Lamar Ford found 200 pounds of marijuana hidden in the 
gas tank of a truck, said Bunkie police Chief Mary Fanara.

The marijuana, which was compressed into two separate containers, is worth 
about $200,000.

Bunkie officers placed the marijuana in a police evidence room, but the 
odor still permeated the air at the back of the jail. Many officers said 
they could stay in the room only for a little while before the odor forced 
them out.

Fanara will ask the federal Drug Enforcement Agency to take over the 
investigation.

The 2001 Ford F-150 was bought at a car auction in Texas July 9. Fanara 
said the dealership sold the vehicle, then received a complaint that 
something was wrong with the gas tank.

The new owner would fill the tank, but the gasoline wouldn't last for long.

On Monday, the Lamar service crew removed the gas tank and found two 
separate containers bolted into the tank.

"They called to tell us they had found drugs in the gas tank of a vehicle, 
and I could not believe it until I saw it with my own eyes," Fanara said.

Police said the containers were hinged into the gas tank so if someone 
knocked on it, it still would sound hollow.

How the drugs got into the tank remains a mystery. Police said it's likely 
the drugs were inserted into the containers with a compressor device.

Police said the marijuana was heavily packed. Maj. Timmy Stracener said he 
tried to see how deep the container was but could only chip down a few 
inches into the drugs without tearing it apart.

Fanara said the department has theories about how the vehicle was auctioned 
with the drugs inside. She speculated that it could have been repossessed 
or seized in forfeiture before the drugs could be removed.

Officers also do not know who previously owned the vehicle or where it came 
from before it was sold at the auction.

The drug find is Bunkie's largest and Fanara says she's never seen anything 
like this before.

Officers confiscated the gas tank and drugs, but left the truck with the 
car dealership.
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