FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 6, 2001

CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8755

COLUMBIA - The South Carolina Department of Public Safety announced the seizure of 42 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $105,000 in a traffic stop yesterday on I-85 in Oconee County.

Shortly before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, a trooper from the Highway Patrol ACE Team, which focuses on drug interdiction, stopped a 1992 Nissan for an illegal lane change on I-85 northbound at the two mile marker in Oconee County. An ACE Team K-9 was called in to inspect the vehicle and the trooper found 42 pounds of marijuana in cellophane wrap concealed in a garbage bag in the trunk.

The driver, Lee Andre Fowler, 26, of Greenville, and passenger Robert Lee Kelley, 35, also of Greenville, were both arrested and charged with trafficking marijuana and conspiracy to distribute.

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