40 lbs of marijuana seized by local authorities

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- Local authorities reported roughly 40 pounds of marijuana was seized in Zanesville.

The Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office, Zanesville Police Department Joint Drug Task Force partnered with the Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Agency investigated a multi-state drug trafficking operation. The investigation resulted in the seizure of marijuana, U.S. currency and firearms.

Jose Paredes of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was arrested Thursday for an outstanding warrant out of Oklahoma District Court. During the arrest the K-9 Unit assisted with probable cause for seizing the illegal drugs.

Sheriff Matt Lutz with the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office said the K-9 unit played a key factor in this investigation.

“We came across the marijuana [and] the dog was able to hit on it to give us probable cause to seize it and then the investigation basically just continued on down the line,” said Sheriff Lutz.

The marijuana that officials seized totaled about $50,000 street value.

“The number one priority thing today is there’s 40 pounds of illegal drugs off the street and nobody can get to it and that’s our number one goal,” said Sheriff Lutz.

Chief Tony Coury with the Zanesville Police Department said the large amount is not conventional.

“This kind of weight is not routine, this is a nice seizure. I think everyday these guys that work with the K-9’s can find grams of marijuana, but today we get to talk about pounds of marijuana,” said Chief Coury.

Chief Coury said the seized marijuana was intended to be distributed in the local area.

Further details could not be released at this time as the investigation remains underway.