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Putnam County Deputies Nab Cocaine In Cereal Box

Efren Zuniga (left) and Jose Moreno. (Photos courtesy Putnam County Sheriff's Office)
Efren Zuniga (left) and Jose Moreno. (Photos courtesy Putnam County Sheriff's Office)

It seems the prizes in cereal boxes just aren’t what they used to be.

Putnam County Sheriff's Office deputies stopped a vehicle about 5 p.m. Monday in Crescent City and found 514 grams of cocaine in a box of Honey Grahams cereal, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

"Drug arrests this substantial are not common every day," sheriff's office spokesman Capt. Joseph Wells later told WUFT. "Certainly, that's a rare occurrence [that] we do find drugs" of that amount, but it isn't uncommon to find them in unusual places.

Deputies made the stop at Highway 17 and Paradise Shores Road after noticing the vehicle had a smashed window, Wells said.

The occupants of the vehicle were identified as Efren Zuniga, 19, from Mexico, and Jose Moreno, 24, of Lake Wales, Florida.

A police dog alerted deputies of possible narcotics in the vehicle, the release said. A duffel bag in the car had the cereal box inside it, and within the box was the cocaine, valued at $14,000 to $16,000, the release said.

Cocaine was also found in Zuniga’s pants pockets.

Zuniga and Moreno were taken to the Putnam County Jail on charges of trafficking cocaine.

 

 

Serena is a reporter for WUFT News who may be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org