102 pounds of marijuana valued at $204K seized in Rowan County

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — The Rowan County Sheriff's Office arrested two men and seized more than 100 pounds of marijuana and nearly $30,000 on Monday.

Deputies arrested Jose Manuel Escobar-Mendez and Antonio Segundo Rosales after they were notified of suspicious activity at a truck stop on Peeler Road in Salisbury.

[ALSO READ: Pair busted after texting former Rowan County narcotics officer]

Deputies said they saw a car hauler with California plates at a truck stop on Peeler Road move to another location. Escobar-Mendez and Rosales began moving boxes from the hauler into a gold Nissan Versa, according to the Sheriff's Office.

(Antonio Segundo Rosales and Jose Manuel Escobar-Mendez)

Investigators said the boxes from the Nissan were taken to a house on Roseman Road in Salisbury, where they were then taken from the car into an outbuilding before the two men drove away in the Nissan.

Deputies said they stopped the car shortly after that.

The Sheriff's Office obtained a search warrant for the house and seized 64 pounds of marijuana from the outbuilding and five pounds of marijuana from the home, officials said.

They also searched the car hauler and its vehicle and found 33 pounds of marijuana and $29,295. The Sheriff's Office said the marijuana seized was valued $204,000.

Escobar-Mendez, who lived at the home, was charged with trafficking marijuana and conspiracy to trafficking marijuana.

Rosales was charged with trafficking marijuana and conspiracy to trafficking in marijuana.

Both men were placed under $150,000 secured bonds and both have since been released from custody.

>> Reading this story in our app? The new "Follow the Lead" feature allows you to tap the blue tag indicated with a '+' to subscribe to alerts on the very latest breaking news updates.

Cox Media Group