LAWNDALE : Charges in Cocaine Seizure Aboard Train Dismissed
Federal prosecutors say 44 pounds of cocaine found in a suitcase aboard an Amtrak train in New Mexico were unconstitutionally seized, and charges against a California man have been dismissed.
On Sept. 9, local police in New Mexico and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration displayed a suitcase packed with plastic bags of cocaine. Brian Hacker, 26, of Lawndale was arrested.
But the U.S. attorney’s office in Albuquerque said the charges were being dropped because the evidence would be inadmissible.
A police officer on an interagency drug task force said he became suspicious after questioning Hacker at the Albuquerque station and the California man said his destination was Minnesota--although his ticket said St. Louis. The officer said he obtained permission from Hacker to search his luggage, but then searched his train compartment without a warrant. The suitcase with cocaine was found in the compartment’s bed.
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