For the second time in two months police have made a major marijuana bust in Lake Township.

A township officer Tuesday stopped a pick-up truck about 5:45 p.m. on U.S. 20 near Luckey Road for not having a front license plate. The officer noticed a smell of marijuana from the bed of the truck and called for the department’s K-9 unit.

Police Chief Mark Hummer Wednesday said about 250 one-pound bags of marijuana were found in the truck. They had been stored in five containers.

Martha Elena West, 41, Fremont, faces one count of trafficking marijuana and one count of possession of a controlled substance. Both are second degree felonies, the chief said, adding the marijuana has an estimated street value of about $1 million.

West was also charged for not having a front license plate.

Chief Hummer said she was lodged in the Wood County Justice Center. Bond was set at $200,000.

The vehicle and drugs were seized.

Task force bust
In March, the Wood County Drug Task Force raided a home in Lake Township and seized approximately 941 pounds of marijuana.

Authorities found the marijuana in a vehicle parked in the garage of the residence.

The suspect wasn’t home at the time of the raid.

Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn at the time estimated the street value of the marijuana at between $1.5 million and $2 million, which made it the largest seizure to date for the task force.

A warrant has been issued for the suspect, who was renting the house.

Lake Township police arrested another man who was driving near the home at the time of the raid and went through an intersection without obeying a stop sign.

He has claimed to have no knowledge of the raid suspect, Chief Hummer said.

According to police, he had about $7,806 in cash with him when he was stopped as well as some drugs and paraphernalia.

Ironically, the police department’s K-9 unit recently took on a second dog, Alex. Both dogs were used on last week’s bust on Route 20.

“We’ll be actively pursuing those folks who are traveling through here with marijuana or using the township as a base of operations,” the chief said.

He said the extensive highway network through the township and its proximity to cities like Toledo, Lima, and Detroit make it a tempting route for drug sellers.

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