Large amount of marijuana seized in Verona

The Daily News Leader (Staunton, Virginia)
BYLINE: By, Heather Kays/staff

Augusta County, VA

VERONA - The Augusta County Sheriff's Office confiscated 1,840 pounds of marijuana found on an American Safety Razor Company truck Tuesday night.

"It's by far the largest seizure we've ever had," Augusta County Sheriff Randy Fisher said Wednesday. "This is not your backyard, garden-variety marijuana operation."

Fisher said the police department received a call from the company around 5:30 p.m. after ASR workers realized there was something wrong with the labels and bar codes on some of the boxes.

There were 80 boxes of marijuana, each containing one 23-pound bale of the drug. A truck, which came from an ASR plant in Mexico made one legitimate stop in Knoxville before arriving at the Verona plant where the drugs were discovered.

"Where these packages were loaded, we don't know," said Fisher, adding the above-average quality marijuana had a street value of between $2.5 and $4 million.

In the summer of 2006, the Verona plant employed about 500 people who learned it would be sold to a British-based equity fund, Lion Capital LLP. The company, which has operated on Va. 612 since 1954, produces shaving, industrial and surgical blades.

"This came from a big operation," said Fisher, explaining everything was compressed and triple-wrapped - first with tin foil, then with brown shipping paper and then with plastic wrap. The idea was to block the smell from narcotics dogs and other people as much as possible. The boxes were stored in the middle of the truck with actual products in other boxes located in front of and behind the marijuana.

Doug Decker, a director of human resources for ASR, said as soon as his company was aware that an unauthorized shipment had been received, employees contacted the police. He refused to comment further, saying the matter had been turned over to the police.

The sheriff's department plans to work with the DEA and other federal agencies to locate someone who might recognize the packaging and labeling as specific to a certain cartel, which is common in organized and large drug operations, he said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the drugs were stacked neatly in a large pile in the corner of the county evidence room making the rest of the space seem relatively empty.

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