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Published on Tuesday, December 10, 2002
in the Gainesville Sun
Gainesville man was arrested Friday near Tampa after troopers found 10 pounds of marijuana in his car and an additional 4 1/2 pounds later in his apartment, authorities said.
Florida Highway troopers noticed a speeding car with heavily tinted windows and an expired tag on Interstate 75 near Tampa early Friday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
When they stopped the 1995 Mazda, they noticed a strong smell of raw marijuana in the car, according to FHP.
Troopers searched the car and found 20 plastic sealed baggies with half a pound of marijuana in each of them, FHP said.
The driver, Adrian Padilla, 23, admitted to paying $37,000 for the marijuana, FHP said.
Padilla was on his way back to his apartment in southwest Gainesville when he was stopped, FHP Lt. Mike Burroughs said.
Padilla took troopers to his apartment, where they found an additional 4 1/2 pounds of marijuana, along with just over $8,000 in cash and a small amount of cocaine, mushrooms, one Xanax and drug paraphernalia.
"We were most certain he was going to sell it (the marijuana)," Burroughs said. "That would be a lot of money."
Assuming about a gram of marijuana goes into one joint, the amount of marijuana troopers seized Friday would have made 6,594 joints.
Investigators are looking into where the marijuana came from, Burroughs said. They believe it was grown by hydroponics, which is a system of growing plants without soil, often in water or nutrient solutions.
Burroughs said making a drug bust as large as the one on Friday is becoming less common.
"Because drug couriers are using technology and more of their own inside intelligence features, it's getting more and more difficult," Burroughs said. "This is most definitely the exception."
Padilla didn't help his own case by speeding and having an expired tag, Burroughs said.
"This is a guy who rats his own self out," Burroughs said.
Padilla, of 2115 SW 39th Drive, was charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to sell, possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful speed and unlawful window tint.
He was booked into the Hillsborough County jail.