TOLEDO – Two Washington residents will appear in the Maumee Municipal Court today after Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers seized seven kilos of cocaine on Interstate 80 in Lucas County.

Miriam C. Cortez, 30, of Toppenish, Wash., and Antonio C. Sanchez, 26, of Sunnyside, Wash., were each charged with possession of cocaine and trafficking of cocaine, both first-degree felonies, and possession of criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony.

Troopers stopped a 1999 Dodge Durango, driven by Cortez, for a marked lane violation on eastbound Interstate 80, milepost 58, in Lucas County at 9:47 a.m. Friday. A Patrol drug-detecting canine alerted to the Durango and a probable cause search revealed seven kilos of cocaine in the spare tire. The cocaine has an estimated street value of approximately $700,000.

Cortez and Sanchez were incarcerated at the Lucas County Justice Center. If convicted, each could face up to 21 years in prison and up to a $42,500 fine.

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