Quoted Text

Pot found in load
of melons bound
for Schenectady
    TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — More than 100 pounds of marijuana believed bound for Schenectady and hidden in a load of melons was intercepted Wednesday in Indiana, state police there said Thursday morning.
    The bust happened at a weigh station on Interstate 70, just inside the Indiana state line. The driver, who was arrested, later told police the shipment was bound for Schenectady, originating in Nogales, Ariz., police there said.
    The semi was spotted just before 3 p.m. Wednesday at an Interstate 70 weigh station, just inside the Indiana state line. Inspectors there quickly became suspicious of the driver and passenger, as well as their logs.
    A police dog was brought in and confirmed those suspicions, beckoning officers to both the cab and trailer.
    Inside the cab, police allegedly found 30 grams of marijuana, along with $4,000 in cash. The bulk of the shipment was found in the trailer. There, officers found hidden among boxes of melons six bales of suspected marijuana wrapped in plastic.
    The marijuana, totaling 133 pounds, had an estimated street value of $120,000.
    The driver, Renaldo R. Ferguson, 30, of Paterson, N.J., was charged with felony dealing marijuana and misdemeanor operating while intoxicated.
    The passenger, Omar A. Andrews, 25, of Mount Vernon, N.Y., was also charged with felony dealing marijuana.