Traffic Stop in Indian Land Leads to Marijuana Trafficking Arrest

INDIAN LAND, S.C. — A routine traffic stop turned into a major drug bust Tuesday after a Lancaster County deputy pulled over a speeding driver and discovered 17 pounds of marijuana in the vehicle.

Around 11 a.m. on July 15, a deputy with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Unit was traveling south on U.S. 521 near Del Webb Boulevard when a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado approached rapidly from behind. The deputy clocked the truck at 62 mph in a 45 mph zone and initiated a traffic stop.

The driver, identified as 24-year-old Gerardo Rangel of Waxhaw, North Carolina, had his young son in the truck. The deputy detected the odor of marijuana and Rangel voluntarily handed over a small plastic bag containing about seven grams of suspected marijuana. Rangel was then detained, and the child’s mother arrived at the scene to take custody of the child.

A second deputy responded to assist with the vehicle search. Inside the truck, deputies found two large vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana in a cardboard box located in the rear passenger area. In the bed of the truck, they discovered a larger box containing several additional vacuum-sealed bags. In total, 17 pounds of suspected marijuana were seized.

Deputies also found $9,883 in cash inside the truck’s center console and an additional $160 in Rangel’s wallet. The total amount of $10,043 was seized along with the drugs.

Rangel was issued tickets for speeding and failure to provide proof of insurance. He was arrested and transported to the Lancaster County Detention Center, where he was charged with Trafficking Marijuana (10–100 pounds). A magistrate set bond at $50,000, which Rangel posted later that day.

“This routine speeding case turned into much more,” said Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile. “Our deputies are trained to be observant, and this deputy picked up on the smell of marijuana. It’s a little baffling that Rangel was speeding down Charlotte Highway openly carrying a lot of marijuana, but I’m glad he passed our Deputy, and we were able to get all this marijuana out of circulation.”

Anyone with information about this or other cases is encouraged to contact the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office at 803-283-3388 (Option 4) or submit an anonymous tip via www.p3tips.com/983 or the P3Tips mobile app.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.