255 Pounds Of Marijuana, 524 Pounds Of “Shake” Material Seized In Person County Traffic Stop

ROXBORO, N.C. – A traffic stop in Person County on Sunday night (Dec. 31) led to the seizure of almost 800 pounds of drugs, making it one of the largest busts in the county’s history, the sheriff’s office said.

According to a report from the incident, a deputy with the Person County Sheriff’s Office was patrolling when he saw a cargo van traveling approximately 8 mph toward Walnut Tree Lane on Oxford Road.

According to the report, the van was impeding the regular traffic flow and was failing to maintain lane control while crossing the white line on the right.

That led to the deputy stopping the vehicle. The deputy made a traffic stop around 11 p.m. and noted in his report that there was a strong smell of marijuana in the van.

In the back of the van, deputies discovered three pallet-sized, octagon-shaped cardboard boxes with paperwork stating the boxes contained hemp. The release said the estimated street value was more than $1.1 million.

Though they come from the same plant, Cannabis sativa, industrial hemp is different from marijuana in the concentration of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the primary intoxicating component of cannabis.

Cannabis with a THC level higher than 0.3 percent is considered marijuana.

According to the report, the driver, identified as 67-year-old Kirtley Barbee Jones of Charlotte, said he was making a delivery, but Jones said he did not know what he was delivering.

Inside the boxes, deputies found “shake” – small pieces of the cannabis flower that had broken off the full bud. The loose flower was field tested and found to be positive for THC.

Deputies contacted a Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force officer, who advised them to search to the bottom of the boxes as drugs are sometimes hidden inside containers of hemp. After further search, deputies found 12 vacuum-sealed bags containing what appeared to be marijuana flowers.

Inside were bags weighing up to 20 pounds, further divided into one-pound bags. In total, deputies found approximately 255 pounds of marijuana and 524 pounds of shake material.

To confirm the findings, the Person County Sheriff’s Office has sent samples of the shake material and bagged flower to an independent lab to be tested for their THC content.

Jones was charged with two counts of trafficking marijuana and one count of maintaining a store, dwelling, vehicle, boat, or other place for the use, storage, or sale of controlled substances and placed under a $250,000 secured bond.

The Person County Sheriff’s Office said the bust was one of its largest ever.