SC Police Patrol:  I-95 Traffic Stop Drug Trafficking Charges

Interstate I-95 winds through South Carolina, and has earned a reputation since the 1980’s for being one of the country’s largest drug trafficking traffic stop  corridors, funneling marijuana, cocaine, and heroin from Cuba through Florida and into the Northeast.  However, despite the notoriety of I-95, getting pulled over, arrested, and accused of drug charges does not mean that you are guilty, or that you do not have any defenses.  Our South Carolina drug trafficking charges offer an aggressive defense to I-95 traffic stop drug trafficking charges.  The Strom Law Firm offers a free consultation to discuss your legal rights as well as whether there was reasonable suspicion for the stop, the subsequent search, and any forfeiture of assets. We will examine your case and fight to have your charges reduced, or even dismissed.

I-95 is Known for Drug Trafficking Charges

“It’s a lifeline to the East Coast,” said Robert Murphy, assistant special agent in charge for the South Carolina Drug Enforcement Agency, “and you, as a drug trafficker and cartel member, have got to have people in those markets. So we’re going to always see traffic there because if you’re not in those markets, you’re just not making money.”

The longest north-south interstate in the US, I-95 stretches for 1,900 miles, and serves as the main expressway for the eastern seaboard of the country. That also makes it a valuable road for smugglers, bringing illegal drugs into the country. The interstate in fact earned the nickname “Cocaine Alley”, with South Carolina’s portion of the highway so busy with smugglers that it has been termed “Cocaine Lane”. So the highway is lined with attentive police officers, looking for any signs of bad driving or strange behavior to indicate illegal drug trafficking.

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office veteran of 9 years Bryan Rulong frequently patrols the I-95 corridor. “It is unreal the body language people are throwing out there because they don’t realize they’re doing it,” he said.

For instance, he and his officers busted a 29-year-old Florida man driving through South Carolina with 508 grams of marijuana, and a pot plant growing in his trunk, because he was seen speeding slightly with his windows rolled down – it was 30 degrees Fahrenheit outside.

A major bust in Florida at the end of January this year involved three days of strengthened police presence in Martin County, and paid off with numerous drug trafficking busts. Over three nights, 75 were pulled over, and arrested on I-95 for drug trafficking , according to Martin County Sheriff William Snyder, who confirms I-95’s notoriety.

“I-95 is a well-known drug-trafficking corridor,” Snyder said. “We know from experience that they can come through here to go somewhere else but stop here to use a gas station (or) do a drug deal here.”

All the drug traffickers were initially pulled over for minor traffic infractions, Snyder said, like speeding.  Getting pulled over and accused of drug trafficking can also result in collateral consequences including forfeiture.

Penalties for I-95 Traffic Stop Drug Trafficking Charges in South Carolina

The penalties for a SC drug trafficking conviction in South Carolina are severe. Your rights, freedom, and future are at stake.

Drug Trafficking charges  are based upon the weight of the drug you are in possession of:

• Ten grams of cocaine
• Four grams of heroin
• Ten pounds of marijuana

The Strom Law Firm Can Help Defend Columbia, SC Drug Trafficking Charges

Drug charges, including methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, or prescription drugs, need to be examined from every angle, and in many cases are subject to mandatory minimum sentences. Were you placed under arrest and charged with a I-95 traffic stop drug trafficking charges? The SC drug possession and drug trafficking lawyers at the Strom Law Firm, LLC,  include a former United States Attorney and Richland County Assistant Solicitor, a former Public Defender, and a former Assistant Attorney General and Richland County Assistant Solicitor. If you have been charged in South Carolina with possession, trafficking, or manufacturing drugs, the SC drug crimes attorneys at the Strom Law Firm can help. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case, so contact us today by calling (803)252-4800.