11 pounds of cocaine seized during Rabun County traffic stop

CLAYTON – A traffic stop by the Georgia State Patrol in Rabun County Wednesday afternoon led to the seizure of five kilos of cocaine.

The stop was initiated by Trooper 1st Class John Crawford of GSP Post 7 in Toccoa on Highway 441 near Boggs Mountain Road south of Clayton.

Crawford was assisted by deputies from the Rabun County Sheriff's Office, agents of the Mountain Judicial Circuit Narcotics Criminal Investigation and Suppression Unit, and the Habersham County Sheriff's Office K9 unit, according to Rabun County Sheriff Frank Andrews.

Crawford pulled over a 2005 Dodge Caravan and determined that there was cause to call in a police dog. At that point, a drug detection dog was requested from the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office.

K9 Officer Jeremy Eller and Nikos responded.

When the K9 unit arrived, Nikos alerted on the vehicle.

“He was all over it,” Eller said.

That led officers to search the vehicle, which is when the cocaine was located.

“It was found in a hidden compartment in a backpack,” Eller said.

The vehicle’s driver, Randy Ray Reed of Warsaw, Mo., was arrested. He is charged with trafficking in cocaine, seatbelt violation, and illegal possession of controlled substance, Rabun County Detention Center Records show.

"The traffic stop and subsequent investigation led to the seizure of five kilos of cocaine," said Rabun County Sheriff's Capt. Gerald Johnson. "During the course of the investigation, Reed and another individual by the name of Hector Daniel Chavez of Missouri were charged with trafficking cocaine and other traffic-related offenses."

"The total street value of the cocaine seized is $150,000,according to the State of Georgia Standardized Drug Values," Johnson said. "The case is still under investigation."

Eller said the northbound vehicle had passed through Habersham County.

“We’re a pipeline,” Eller said of Habersham County. “It’s coming right through our county every day.”

Eller said that’s why Habersham County has its K9 and HEAT (Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic) units.

“Now, $150,000 of illegal dope is off the street because of one K9 unit,” Eller said.

A kilogram (1,000 grams) of cocaine is equivalent to just more than 2.2 pounds, therefore Wednesday’s bust netted just more than 11 pounds of the illegal drug.