Troopers Discover Marijuana in a Load of Candy

According to Reuters, mixed in with more than 40,000 pounds of Jawbreakers was something with quite a different taste, said the Minnesota State Patrol. Mixed with the Jawbreakers was close to 1.5 tons of marijuana.The two being charged with intent to distribute marijuana, Juan Carlos and Luis Rene Avila, appeared in federal court on Thursday.

The 41 boxes of marijuana were in the middle of 28 pallets of boxes, which contained the Jawbreakers, authorities said. The marijuana was discovered on Tuesday during a traffic stop. The truck was pulled over because the driver was going fifteen mph below the speed limit, as well as frequently brushing against the right shoulder of the road. The officer who pulled the two over were asking questions about the truck's logbook and other papers. Inconsistencies in the answers to the questions posed caused authorities to call in a drug sniffing dog that eventually found the 1.5 tons of marijuana.

An acting special agent of the Minneapolis-St. Paul office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Kent Bailey, said the candy would most likely be destroyed, as well as the marijuana.

"I initially thought about how we could give that away to kids forever and ever. But I couldn't take the risk," said Kent to Reuters. "Even though they were in cellophane and they're boxed, that package has been sitting somewhere for a month with a ton and a half of marijuana next to it."

The origin of the truck was believed to be from Texas, but authorities said the two men refuse to say where the truck was headed or for whom the contents on the truck were for, according to court documents.

Authorities say one of the two men admitted to being in the U.S. illegally. The other man told authorities he is a legal alien. The men may have provided authorities with false names so law-enforcement officials could not immediately determine whether or not the two men had outstanding warrants.Carlos is from Mexico and is currently facing deportation, according to authorities. Arthur Martinez, his attorney, said Carlos was a passenger who used the truck as a ride to get to his destination.

A public defender for Avila, Caroline Durham, did not immediately return a call that was placed on Friday.

The 1.5 tons of marijuana holds more than a three-million-dollar street value.