The Mississippi Department of Public Safety said in a Nov. 2 post that a joint law enforcement operation on Interstate 20 in Rankin County led to a traffic stop and a large drug seizure. DPS said the operation involved the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the DPS Interdiction Team, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department and the Madison Police Department.
According to DPS, officers recovered about 204 pounds of cocaine and 1,959 pounds of marijuana during the stop. The department said the seizure followed the coordinated operation on the interstate in Rankin County and was handled by the agencies working together.
DPS identified the two arrested men as Yohannes Teane Haile, 36, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, and Belayneh Kassa Befikadu, 42, of Clarkston, Georgia. The department said both men were taken into custody after the stop and were part of the same traffic-stop operation.
The department said both were charged with aggravated trafficking of cocaine and trafficking of marijuana. DPS also said both men were transported to the Rankin County Detention Center after the arrests.
Jon R Myers is the executive editor of Alcorn County News and the founder of the Mississippi News Group, which he started in 2013 to cover communities across North Mississippi. He also founded the Mississippi Sports Group in 2006, which grew from a single community publication into a statewide network covering high school and college athletics. He reports on local government, public safety, schools and community life in Corinth and Alcorn County, working from public meetings, agency records and interviews with the people involved. Contact him at editor@alcornnewsms.com with news tips or corrections. For a correction, include the article link and supporting source material.
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