A traffic stop in Ocala on Tuesday afternoon resulted in the seizure of 75 pounds of marijuana valued at $250,000.

The Ocala Police Department said drug agents assigned to the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team conducted a traffic stop on a blue Ford F‐350 pickup truck at 26 NW 10th Street.

Investigators say the bed of the pickup truck contained large pieces of used furniture and multiple cardboard boxes.

Ocala Police K‐9 Rocky conducted a drug sniff of the pickup truck, and police said he quickly alerted on the vehicle, detecting the odor of an illegal substance.

Police said agents searched the bed of the pickup truck and discovered four large cardboard boxes packed with marijuana.

The driver, 47-year-old Lee Alan Minchew, and his pickup truck were taken to the Ocala Police Department, where agents went through the truck and found the boxes contained 72 vacuum-sealed bags of high-grade marijuana.

Minchew was arrested and booked into the Marion County Jail for trafficking marijuana (more than 25 pounds). Minchew posted a $25,000 bond and was released from the Marion County Jail on Wednesday.

K‐9 Rocky with the 75 pounds of marijuana he alerted on. (Ocala Police Department)

Investigators say the bed of the pickup truck contained large pieces of used furniture and multiple cardboard boxes. (Ocala Police Department)