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Confiscated Truck Leads To Big Drug Bust

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Police made a big drug bust -- 550 pounds of marijuana, $250,000 in cash and dozens of high-powered weapons -- because of one truck.

Dozens of guns, from pistols to semi-automatic weapons, were meant to stop anyone who got in the way of a dangerous drug operation. The kingpins were protecting marijuana.

Police said Jeffrey King, 29, and Vernon Lockhart, 28, were distributing thousands of pounds of marijuana into Nashville and middle Tennessee for at least five years.

"Somebody's breaking into somebody's grandmother's house to have the money to buy the weed," said Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas. "Somebody stealing somebody's car to sell to have money to buy the weed.

Somebody beating someone up because they owed them the money, the money that they used to buy the weed."

The investigation came to an end March 8, when a flatbed was stopped on Briley Parkway near Centennial Boulevard. Found in a secret compartment were 500 pounds of marijuana picked up in Phoenix, Ariz. Police used a blowtorch to get to the d.rugs.

Guns and $250,000 in cash were taken from 26 different locations. It was a sophisticated operation involving scam corporations, money laundering and lot of pot.

"I don't think there's a clearer picture that you can see than the dope and the guns," said Serpas. "This is a dangerous organization, and this a dangerous business." The bust took coordination from two judicial drug task forces, one in Metro and one in Sumner County.

"We're able to conduct a very significant investigation, which dismantles a drug trafficking organization working here within the confines of the city of Nashville and Davidson County and within Sumner County and surrounding areas," said Harry Summers of the Drug Enforcement Agency. The two masterminds behind the operation remain in jail. Bond has been set at $1 million each.

Police also found $45 million in Iraqi currency. According to police, about a million dinars can be purchased for $900.

King bought it as an investment, hoping the dinar would gain value over time.

http://www.wsmv.com/news/19057346/detail.html