Iredell deputies find 11 pounds of cocaine in car on I-77

Published 4:40 pm Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Iredell County deputies stopped a New York woman on Interstate 77 on Monday and found packages of cocaine concealed in her vehicle, authorities said.

Members of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Interstate Criminal Enforcement Team stopped a Toyota Rav 4.

The driver, Sherrie Shawnte Reed, 37, of Upper Rochester, New York, was evasive when deputies asked her about several items in her vehicle, authorities said. She told deputies she had been in Florida and was traveling to another state. She said the car was a rental but offered no paperwork to prove it.

Deputies said they found a large amount of money in a jacket in the car. Under the rear seat and under the carpet was a natural void in the vehicle where deputies found several vacuum-sealed white blocks, which they believed to be cocaine.

Reed was taken into custody and questioned by narcotics investigators, who discovered that Reed was wanted on a fugitive warrant for theft in Florida.

Investigators said they found 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of cocaine worth over $1,250,000 and more than $1,700 in cash in the vehicle.

Reed was taken to the Iredell County Detention Center and charged with felony trafficking of cocaine by possession. She was placed under $250,000 secured bond and is being held on the fugitive warrant pending an extradition hearing.

Reed has a criminal history in New York for felony convictions for fraud and larceny.

The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Investigation Unit is working with out-of-state agencies on the investigation.