Big Piner Caught Transporting

Nearly a half million dollars worth of marijuana was seized when a South Florida man was pulled over for reportedly weaving in and out of his lane while driving a motor home through Lafayette County, a small (Pop. 7,000) county in the Big Bend area of Florida between the panhandle and the peninsula. The traffic stop happened late Tuesday on State Road 20, according to Sheriff Carson McCall. Members of the county's drug interdiction team had pulled over a 1989 Winnebago when a drug dog alerted to indicate the presence of illicit drugs in the motorhome.

"We searched the Winnebago and found approximately 190 pounds of marijuana," McCall said. "We have estimated the street value to be about $456,000. We hope people get the message pretty soon that if you're doing drugs or transporting drugs you need to go somewhere else than Lafayette County."

The driver of the Winnebago was identified as Harold Edward Baranoff of Big Pine Key, who was arrested for trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Winnebago was impounded by the Sheriff's Office.

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