Shortly before 7:00 p.m. on Monday, August 4, 2008, a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol Troop C Headquarters-Grand Island stopped a blue 2005 Dodge Caravan with Ohio plates for speeding near MM278 on Interstate 80.   The trooper was given consent to search the vehicle.  The search led to the seizure of 225 lbs. of marijuana.  160 lbs. of the drug was located in two large hockey bags in the back of the minivan.  The other 65 lbs. was found in compartments under the middle seats of the van

The driver of the vehicle, 30-year-old Madai Zapta Marquez, of Phoenix, Arizona was lodged in the Buffalo County Detention Center on a charge of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver.   The identity of a 29-year-old male passenger, believed to be an illegal alien has yet to be confirmed.  The passenger is also being held in the Buffalo County Detention Center on a charge of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver.

The vehicle driven by the men was registered to 32-year-old Julio Flores-Elenes of Phoenix, Arizona.  Flores-Elenes is currently in the Buffalo County Detention Center facing charges of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver, after being stopped for speeding on I-80 in April.  At the time of the stop, troopers uncovered 200 lbs. of marijuana in the vehicle he was driving.