Local News in Brief : L.A. Man Sets Drug Mark

A routine traffic stop along Interstate 80 in western Iowa led to the arrest of a Los Angeles man and the seizure from the car’s trunk of 189.2 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $40 million, authorities said Tuesday.

“This is far and away the largest cocaine seizure ever in the state of Iowa,” said Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Gene Shepard.

Charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine was a passenger in the car, Orlando Rene Monie, 33, of Los Angeles. Two other adults in the vehicle were not charged.

Shepard said an Iowa Highway Patrol officer who stopped the car for speeding at 2 p.m. Monday became suspicious and asked Steen for permission to search the vehicle when he noticed that the vehicle was registered in Florida and that Steen’s California driver’s license had expired.