A Police News Exclusive
By Jamie Nash
October 21, 2009

NEW CANEY, Texas - A refrigerated 18-wheeler parked at the Flying J Truck Stop on US 59 at SH 242 Tuesday evening blended in, appearing to be a typical produce hauler. That is, except the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Unit K-9 Bianca.
 
As SIU Deputy Tom Thompson walked around the parking area with Bianca, the experienced drug sniffing dog gave a positive air sniff alert on one truck, according to SIU Deputy Buddy Kellum.
 
Checking the truck's license plate revealed it was uninsured and the registration was expired, he said. The deputies waited for the driver to walk outside and when they told him about the dog's reaction to his truck, he gave them consent to search the vehicle.
 
With the rear door of the trailer open, the truck appeared to be filled with watermelons and oranges. Having partnered with Bianca for years and confident in her accuracy, Deputy Thompson climbed on top of the load and saw bundle after bundle of an illegal harvest.
 
Hidden amidst the melons and oranges was an estimated 3,000 lbs. of marijuana, wrapped and sealed in plastic.
 
Kellum said the load originated in the Mission / Edinburg area in south Texas near the Mexican border. Drug trafficking is an ongoing problem on both US 59 and Interstate 45 through Montgomery County.