I-10 TRAFFIC STOP NETS 230 POUNDS OF COCAINE BAGS

WINNIE [Texas] -- About 230 pounds of cocaine valued at nearly $10 million
was seized during a traffic stop on Interstate 10.

"It's the biggest seizure from a traffic stop that anybody can ever
remember," said Dearl Hardy with the federally funded Chambers County
Narcotics Task force.

Gerald Thomas, 47, of Jackson, Miss., was in jail Thursday, held in lieu of
a $300,000 bond on charges of aggravated possession of a controlled
substance and unlawfully carrying a weapon, a semi- automatic handgun.

Thomas was arrested Sunday after the cocaine was found in bags in the back
seat of his 1997 Ford Expedition, but information about the crime was not
released until Thursday.

Hardy said investigators withheld the information to allow them to
investigate the case.

The investigation into the source and destination of the cache of cocaine
is continuing with the help of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration,
Hardy said. He said authorities believe the cocaine came from Mexico and
was picked up by the driver in the Hobby Airport area.

"It was to be distributed in small amounts at different locations in three
states," said Hardy.

He said Thomas has criminal convictions in Louisiana involving a shooting
and weapons violation.

A member of the task force discovered the cocaine after pulling Thomas' car
over for a traffic violation Sunday.

The vehicle and weapon were confiscated.