$1M worth of cocaine in vehicle arriving on car carrier

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Authorities say they found 65 pounds of cocaine worth more than $1 million inside a vehicle that was delivered on a car carrier to a western New York auto dealership.

The man who picked up the SUV is facing federal drug charges.

At a news conference Monday, U.S. Attorney James Kennedy Jr. says the older Mercury Mariner raised suspicion when it arrived at a Grand Island Toyota dealership along with a shipment of newer Toyotas on July 19. Police had stopped the SUV as it was driven away and found the cocaine under the rear cargo area.

Edgar Joel Jimenez-Rodriguez of North Tonawanda (tahn-uh-WAHN’-duh) is in custody pending a hearing in federal court Tuesday, when it’s expected an attorney will be appointed and a judge will consider bail.