A Cleveland, Ohio, resident who the Porter County Sheriff’s Police said admitted to being a drug runner was arrested Monday on a charge of possession of marijuana in excess of 30 grams during a HIDTA interdiction operation on the Indiana Toll Road in Jackson Township.

According to police, at 5:06 p.m. Brian M. Davis, 34, was stopped at the 36 mile marker in the eastbound lanes of the Toll Road after an officer stopped him for speeding. Police said that the officer detected the odor of marijuana from the interior of the vehicle and in plain view observed a plastic bag in a fast-food beverage cup containing a “leafy plant-like material.” Davis advised the officer that he had bought the seven grams of marijuana in Chicago for $25, police said.

The officer then informed Davis that he wanted to search the vehicle further and that, if he found no narcotics or illegal weapons, would issue Davis a summons to appear in court and release him at the scene, police said.

Davis gave his consent to a search, which yielded a duffel bag in the trunk containing 2,281 grams of marijuana, or 5.02 pounds of it, police said.

When asked how much a pound of marijuana goes for in Cleveland, Davis advised that “he’s a ‘runner’ and doesn’t sell the marijuana,” police said.

Davis was transported to Porter County Jail on a charge of possession of marijuana with a prior conviction and possession of marijuana in excess of 30 grams, police said.

The investigating officer had been tasked to drug interdiction operations funded with federal moneys made available by Porter County’s membership in the Lake County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

Posted 6/5/2012