MARIJUANA SEIZURE LATEST I-10 BUST

Sheriff's deputies say 100 pounds found in car

GULFPORT - The seizure of more than 100 pounds of marijuana early Tuesday
is the latest of several major drug busts along Interstate 10.

Deputies with the Harrison County Sheriff's Department said they found the
marijuana in the trunk of a 1984 Grand Mercury Marquis around 1 a.m. after
stopping the driver for careless driving. Narcotics agents estimated the
street value at between $120,000 and $160,000, depending on whether the
marijuana was to be sold by the ounce or by the pound.

More than eight drug busts on I-10 within the past six weeks have stopped
"drugs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from ending up in a
community," said Detective Sgt. Chris Loposser of the Coastal Narcotics
Enforcement Team.

CNET is made up of investigators from Harrison and Stone counties and the
state Bureau of Narcotics.

The drugs may be coming from Texas or Mexico, he said.

Sergio Enrique Zuarez, 38, was heading east Tuesday when deputies stopped
him and found he was in the United States illegally, the department said.
He was held at the Harrison County jail for the U.S. Border Patrol.

Last Friday, deputies stopped a Texas man for a traffic violation and said
they found two kilograms of cocaine, valued at $100,000, in the engine
block of his SUV. He also was headed east. Anastacio E. Saenz, 30, was
charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver,
the same charges filed against Zuarez.

"The interstate has always been a threat (for drug deliveries)," Loposser
said, "but since Sept. 11 and increased airport security, it is likely more
people are using the interstate to run drugs."