The two men arrested in December after Phelps County deputies discovered 1,213 pounds of suspected marijuana hidden in a false compartment of their trailer were indicted and appeared in federal court on Wednesday, according to a statement by United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway.
Raudel Galves, 38, of Springdale, Ark., was indicted by a federal grand jury in St. Louis on Dec. 31 on one felony count of possession with intent to distribute in excess of 100 kilograms of marijuana. If convicted, Galvez faces a penalty of five-to-40 years in prison.
Israel Guadalupe Valdez-Parra, 29, an illegal alien from Mexico, also was indicted the same day for re-entering the United States after previously being deported. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Hanaway commended the work on the case by the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department.
PCSD Deputy Christian Butler and former PCSD deputy Mark Wynn arrested Galves, the driver of the pickup truck and trailer, and Valdez-Parra, the passenger, on Dec. 4 after Wynn’s drug dog, Idol, communicated a positive alert to the presence of narcotics. Galvez gave his consent for the deputies to search his truck, according to the PCSD report.
Deputites stopped Galves’ vehicle, a white, Dodge 3500 pickup truck, on Interstate 44, near mile marker 174, after they observed him failing to use turn signals.
The street value of 1,213 pounds of marijuana is approximately $1.2 million.
Shortly after the arrest, Wynn explained the construction materials in the trailer were considered a “cover load,” or a ruse intended to hide the real cargo.