Chris Jones: Greene Publishing, Inc.
Two south Florida men are in the Madison County Jail on felony drug charges after they were pulled over by the Florida Highway Patrol's (FHP) Criminal Interdiction Unit near mile marker 260, on Interstate 10.
An FHP K-9 unit was deployed and conducted a free-air sniff of the 2017 Chevrolet Traverse. The K-9 gave a positive alert to the odor of narcotics and both the driver, 24-year-old Ramon Alvarez-Mesa, of Hialeah, Fl., and the passenger, 61-year-old Jose M. Riesgo, of Miami, Fl., were detained while a probable cause search was conducted on the vehicle. Troopers located four fraudulent credit cards, four fraudulent identification cards, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and $32,370. Both men were arrested and booked into the Madison County Jail on several felony charges.
Alvarez-Mesa was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia. Riesgo was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell; possession of marijuana less than 20 grams; using or possessing an ID of another person without consent; four counts of possession of blank, fictitious, or unlawful drivers' licenses; four counts of possession of an ID other than the person; and one count of possession of two or more counterfeit credit cards.