Huge drug haul after I-78 traffic stop yields 200 pounds of drugs, federal charges for driver

A traffic stop in November on Interstate 78 near the Lower Saucon Township-Williams Township border yielded dozens of pounds of heroin, 171 pounds of cocaine, 35 pounds of fentanyl, four packages of pills and federal charges for the driver, Pennsylvania State Police report.

Miguel Gonzalez Segovia, 33, of Mira Loma, California, was charged charged federally on Thursday with possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 400 grams or more of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced. The figures for charging purposes turned out to be but a fraction of what was actually recovered.

A rented blue Ford Expedition registered and rented out of Ohio was pulled over due to several traffic violations about 11:30 a.m. Nov. 13 at mile post 72.2 on I-78 East, state police report. A trooper asked permission to search the vehicle and it was granted, police said.

Before the search began, a state police K-9 “was deployed and exhibited a positive indication on the vehicle,” a summary of the activity provided by police said.

There were five suitcases in the rear of the vehicle, police said. One suitcase, weighing about 50 pounds, was found to contain “numerous sealed packages believed to be heroin,” police said.

The SUV was towed to the state police barracks at Belfast in Plainfield Township where the search continued, police said. In the other suitcases, troopers found approximately 16 kilograms — about 35 pounds — of fentanyl and 78 kilograms — more than 171 pounds — of cocaine, in addition to the pills, police said.

The “patrol trooper at PSP Belfast deserves all the accolades,” a state police official said. “Everyone else assisted after the fact.”

The FBI, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and higher levels of the state police were involved in the subsequent investigation, authorities said.

If convicted of all counts, Gonzalez Segovia faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with a 10-year mandatory minimum, a mandatory minimum of five years of supervised release up to a lifetime of supervised release, a $10,000,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

U.S. Attorney William M,. McSwain, in announcing the charges in a news release, said the federal government is taking the illegal drug trade very seriously.

“We at the Department of Justice seek to reduce the supply of illegal drugs in the United States by aggressively investigating and prosecuting national and international drug trafficking organizations,” McSwain said. “This will continue to be a high priority for our office.”

Jonathan A. Wilson, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Philadelphia Field Division, spoke about mission and the toll fentanyl is taking.

“Segovia is accused of possessing with the intent to distribute a substantial amount of cocaine and fentanyl, both of which are dangerous drugs, the latter of which is a deadly synthetic opioid that was identified in over 67 percent of the 5,456 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania in 2017,” Wilson said in the news release. “The primary mission of our office is to target significant drug traffickers that are operating in our area and the nation at large.”

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.