How's this for a bad day? I probably should have this in the news section but...
Jackson County Sheriff John Shasteen figures he hit the jackpot this week. Deputies were seizing a half-ton of
marijuana at a rural home on Wednesday when a truck pulled up with another half-ton of weed. The total take: three
arrests and nearly a ton of
marijuana with a street value of $4.4 million.
"Unbelievable," Shasteen said of the biggest drug bust in county history.
North Carolina state police notified the sheriff's office recently that they had seized a half-ton of
marijuana destined for delivery to Jackson County.
An Ohio Air National Guard C-130 transport plane gave the Ohio deputies a lift to Greensboro, N.C., to pick up the pot, which was packed inside a giant inflatable children's carnival ride.
The sheriff's office then recruited a trucking company to deliver the load yesterday to a house on Jackson Hill Road, with a deputy riding shotgun.
After delivery was accepted, deputies used a search warrant to retake the
marijuana and arrested three men, charging them with aggravated trafficking in
marijuana.
While wrapping up the raid, another truck pulled up, this one from Texas. It was delivering an identically wrapped load of
marijuana. The truck driver was unaware of the contents.
Roger Baisden, 44, and Ronnie Baisden, 49, who apparently are brothers and live at the Jackson Hill Road house, and Mark Morelock, 51, of McArthur, are in jail.
After Morelock's arrest, Vinton County deputies obtained a warrant and seized $14,000 in cash, six firearms and apparent
marijuana from his home.
Jackson is about 65 miles southeast of Columbus.