Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 20, 1992                   TAG: 9203200322
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By KATHY LOAN
DATELINE: IRONTO                                LENGTH: Short

POT HAUL VALUE NOW PUT AT $3.2 MILLION

The amount of marijuana found abandoned at the Ironto rest area of Interstate 81 Wednesday morning weighed in at 877 pounds, 127 more than estimated.

The marijuana was discovered after a truck driver called police to complain that several large cardboard boxes had been dropped in front of his truck while he was sleeping. Each of the 10 U-Haul moving boxes was filled with large bales of marijuana.

Wednesday, authorities relied on the weights written on the plastic wrapped around the bales to arrive at an estimate of 750 pounds with a street value of $2.5 million. Now, sheriff's officials estimate the street value at $3.2 million.

Chief Deputy Roy Bolen said it appears the marijuana was discarded because someone got nervous about a state trooper following the vehicle.

He said the trooper followed a vehicle towing a U-Haul utility trailer into the rest area about 5:30 a.m.

Bolen said Trooper J.H. Rasnick told the sheriff's office Wednesday that he thought the vehicle looked suspicious, but had no probable cause to stop it. The trooper needed a criminal or traffic violation to be able to stop the car, Bolen said.

"Without probable cause, you can't arbitrarily stop a vehicle," he said. "Maybe he just spooked them up by following them and they just felt like it was an opportune time to get rid of it."