Pubdate: Mon, 22 Mar 1999
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)
Copyright: 1999 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://www.phillynews.com/
Forum: http://interactive.phillynews.com/talk-show/
Author: Anne Barnard, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

LEHIGH DRUG BUST MAY TOTAL $50 MILLION

UPPER MACUNGIE  -- Two Texas men are being held in Lehigh County
Prison after state police found $40 million to $50 million worth of
cocaine in their flatbed trailer truck.

Police said the driver was pulled over for failing to signal a lane
change.

Authorities were uncertain whether Saturday's bust was the largest
drug haul ever seized by the Fogelsville barracks of the state police
in Lehigh County, but they called the amount "significant."

Police said the cocaine did not appear to be bound for the Lehigh
Valley. They would not speculate on where it was headed or where it
came from, saying only that they were continuing to
investigate.

Charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession with
intent to deliver a controlled substance were filed against the
driver, William Dale Ener, 59, of Pasadena, Texas, and Clyde Lavon
Smith, 55, of Houston. Each was being held in Lehigh County Prison in
lieu of $800,000 bail.

The men were headed west on Interstate 78 through this Lehigh County
township near Allentown about 2:10 a.m., state police said.

Troopers pulled the truck over after it changed lanes without
signaling, said a statement released by Capt. Theodore Kohuth.

The officers noticed six wooden crates covered with a tarp and secured
to the trailer, and the men consented to a search, police said.

Inside the crates was 831 kilograms of cocaine, with a street value of
$40 million to $50 million, police said.

Police seized the cocaine as well as $10,500 in cash.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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