TOLEDO – A California woman and a Florida man will appear in the Maumee Municipal Court today after Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers seized 54 pounds of BC Bud marijuana, valued at $2.4 million, on Interstate 80 in Lucas County.

Mechele E. Foley, 28, of Occidental, Calif., was charged with possession of marijuana and trafficking of marijuana, both second-degree felonies, and Joshua Bloom, 26, of Pampano, Fla., was charged with conspiracy to traffic marijuana, a second-degree felony.

Troopers stopped a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis and a 2003 Ford Taurus, for separate traffic violations on eastbound Interstate 80, milepost 58, in Lucas County at 4:05 p.m. yesterday. A Patrol drug-detecting canine alerted to the Mercury, driven by Foley, and a probable cause search revealed 54 pounds of BC Bud marijuana in three large duffel bags. The BC Bud marijuana has an estimated street value of approximately $2.4 million.

Foley and Bloom were incarcerated at the Lucas County Justice Center. If convicted, Foley could face up to 16 years in prison and up to a $30,000 fine and Bloom could face up to eight years in prison and up to a $15,000 fine.

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