JAMAICANS IN THE NEWS

Hattiesburg police seize over 600 pounds of marijuana during traffic stop

Natascia Buchanan and Deano Simpson

HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) – Hattiesburg police seized over 600 pounds of drugs after a traffic stop over the weekend.

Sunday around 1 a.m., an officer with the Hattiesburg Interdiction Team stopped a motor home for a traffic offense on Interstate 59 near the 63 mile marker.

When the officer spoke with the driver, the officer became suspicious the driver could be transporting narcotics. The officer used his police service dog to search the vehicle. The dog indicated there were drugs in the vehicle by the bed.

The officer located approximately 626 lbs of marijuana inside the bed frame. The officer also seized over $900.

The driver, Deano Simpson, and the passenger, Natascia Buchanan, were charged with possession of marijuana over a kilo with the intent to distribute and they were taken to the Forrest County Jail.

Mayor Johnny L. DuPree, Ph.D.

Press Release
Monday, Nov. 21, 2011,
For Immediate Release:

Routine Traffic Stop Nets $500 Thousand Drug Bust

Hattiesburg-An early morning traffic stop lands two people behind bars and nets the Hattiesburg Police Department (HPD) more than half a million dollars worth of marijuana. Deano Simpson of Pennsylvania was pulled over around 1 a.m., on Sunday, Nov. 20 for a traffic violation on Interstate 59 near the 63 mile marker. Simpson’s odd behavior led an officer with HPD’s Interdiction team to search his motor home for narcotics.
With the help of a police dog, the officer would find approximately 626 pounds of marijuana and $900 inside the bed frame of the vehicle. Simpson and his passenger, Natascia Buchanan, now sit in Forrest County Jail charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. For more information, contact HPD Public Information Officer Lt. Eric Prouix at 601.297.9227 or via email at [email protected] .