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Three Charlotte men are accused of trafficking heroin after authorities found four pounds of the drug hidden in a spare tire during a traffic stop.
Adolfo Guzman Lopez, 31, Beltran Rodriquez Gerardo, 27, and Irving Eduardo Rodriquez-Munguia, 20, were all being held in the Gaston County jail on Tuesday. Authorities have placed an immigration detainer on the men.
The men were charged Monday after a trooper with the N.C. Highway Patrol pulled over a vehicle for following too closely. The traffic stop was made on northbound Interstate 85 near the U.S. 74 exit in Gaston County.
Trooper Ray Blanton said the driver, identified as Rodriquez Gerardo, didn’t have a license or other valid identification. As the men talked, Blanton said he grew suspicious and asked to search the vehicle. The driver consented and troopers found three packages of heroin in the tire, Blanton said.
Blanton said the amount of the heroin found led to the trafficking charge.
Lopez was being held on a $5 million bond, while the other suspects were given $2.5 million bonds.
