Drug bust at gas station nets 2 pounds of cocaine, $27K

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gwinnett County Police arrested three men and seized cocaine, money and a handgun from their car at a Buford gas station Thursday morning.

Castor Humberto Wallace of Smyrna; Ramiro Morales of Marietta; and Lino Ambriz-Aguilera of Bakersfield, Calif., are being held without bond at the Gwinnett County jail after police said they took a kilo of cocaine, $27,600 in cash and a handgun from their car.

The three men were standing next to a GMC Yukon at the Quick Trip gas station on Buford Drive when an officer with the Gwinnett County Police's highway interdiction team spotted them and said they were "acting suspiciously."

The officer said he talked to each of the men and, after noticing that their stories didn't match up and that the registered driver of the Yukon had a suspended license, searched the car. The officer said he pulled a kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of cocaine that had a street value of $110,000, as well as a plastic bag of cash and a small handgun from the center console.

The men were arrested and taken to jail.

Wallace, 34; Morales, 28; and Ambriz-Aguilera, 21; were charged with trafficking cocaine and having a weapon -- both of which are felony charges, police said.

Police said Thursday's arrests follow another investigation by the narcotics' division. That investigation led to several arrests and the seizure of drugs.