A routine traffic stop by a Lauderdale County deputy Wednesday night resulted the seizure of 18 pounds of cocaine.

Sheriff Billy Sollie said the stop occurred about 9:15 p.m.

Jesus J. Duarte, 36 of Houston, Texas, was traveling eastbound on Interstate 20/59 when he was stopped between the Toomsuba and Kewanee exits by a deputy with the county’s Interstate Interdiction Unit.

Sollie said Duarte consented to a search of the vehicle. The deputy found 14 packages of drugs, bundled in gold foil and coated with a layer of grease, the sheriff said, in a secret compartment in the 1998 Oldsmobile’s frame. The total weight of the packages equaled 18 pounds or 8.18 kilos.

Duarte was taken into custody and transferred to the custody of the Drug Enforcement Agency; the DEA will conduct the investigation of the case from this point.

Sollie said the estimated street value of the drugs is about $1 million.

While he could not theorize about where Duarte was going or who the intended recipients of the drugs were, Sollie said he believes Duarte’s trip originated in Houston.

Wednesday’s seizure marks the year’s second significant seizure of drugs during a traffic stop in Lauderdale County. The first came March 17 when 30, 1 kilo packages of uncut powder cocaine, with a street value of $3 million, were found hidden in a false trunk welded into a vehicle’s frame. The 30 kilos would weigh about 66 pounds.

Sollie attributed the successes to well-trained personnel.

“Having officers who know what to look for, who know how to interview individuals to obtain probable cause, or to obtain a search warrant, is important in having success,” he said. “We are just one part of a huge team across the United States that is participating in the Interstate Interdiction Program.”