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Parkersburg, W.Va. State Police confiscate $63,000 from rental car

PARKERSBURG — The Parkersburg Police Department, with assistance from the West Virginia State Police, confiscated $63,000 Thursday following a traffic stop, said Parkersburg Police Chief Joe Martin.

At about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, State Trooper C.S. Jackson and Parkersburg Police Officers J.N. Dennison and C.A. Miller were working in the area of Interstate 77 and U.S. 50 in Wood County looking for criminal activity, said Martin.

Jackson and Miller stopped a vehicle for a moving violation in the area of I-77 and Emerson Avenue, said Martin.

The driver, Myreo E. Dixon Jr., of Detroit, who was driving a rental car, seemed nervous after speaking with the officers and a K9 was requested to the scene, Martin said.

Dennison and K9 Ceddrick arrived and a sniff of the vehicle was done. Ceddrick detected the odor of drugs at the driver’s side door, said Martin. No drugs were found, Martin said.

A search of the rental car revealed 13 bundles of money, totaling $63,000, hidden inside the center console, Martin said.

Dixon said he did not know that the money was inside the rental car and said the large amount of cash was not his, said Martin.

Officers seized the money after Dixon denied ownership and a process will be started to utilize this money for future drug investigations, Martin said.

Further investigation showed that Dixon is on federal probation for trafficking heroin and is prohibited from leaving the state of Michigan, said Martin.

Dixon said he was traveling from Charleston to Detroit, Martin said.

Dixon was released due to no applicable criminal charges to hold him, said Martin.

During the traffic stop, the city police officers and state police were using techniques taught to them by two Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers during a three-day training event to educate officers on drug trafficking trends, said Martin.

The intent of the training was to teach officers assigned to the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force Interdiction Team the most up-to-date trends and techniques of criminal interdiction, Martin said. The course started on Wednesday with eight hours of classroom lecture, said Martin.

Today they will be working on the streets and interstates in Parkersburg and Wood County applying what was taught in the classroom, Martin said.

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