K9 'Rocky' credited in seizure of $250K worth of pot

MARION COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Authorities in Marion County arrested a man in Ocala, accused of possessing 75 pounds of high-grade marijuana with an estimated street value of around $250,000.

Lee Alan Minchew, 47, was taken in custody on Tuesday and posted a $25,000 bond and was released on Wednesday, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said the bust began when a drug enforcement team comprised of deputies with the Sheriff's Office and the Ocala Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a blue Ford F‐350 pickup truck at 26 NW 10th Street.  The bed of truck contained large pieces of used furniture and multiple cardboard boxes. 

While other drug agents were talking with the driver, later identified as Minchew, an agent and his drug-detecting K9 officer “Rocky” conducted a drug sniff of the pickup truck.  Rocky quickly alerted the agent of an illegal substance, and a search revealed that four large cardboard boxes were packed with marijuana.

"It took six drug agents nearly two hours to breakdown and process all of the marijuana so it could be properly documented and entered into the Ocala Police Department’s evidence section," a spokesperson with the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team told FOX 35.

Minchew is charged with trafficking marijuana (more than 25 pounds).