PIQUA – A Chicago man appeared in the Preble County Common Pleas Court today after Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers seized six kilos of cocaine on Interstate 70 in Preble County Friday.

Jose A. Martinez, 51, was charged with possession of cocaine, a first-degree felony, and possession of criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony.

A trooper stopped a 1998 Plymouth Voyager, driven by Martinez, for failing to slow or move over for a stopped emergency vehicle eastbound on Interstate 70, at milepost 8, in Preble County at 9:37 a.m. Friday.

A Patrol drug-detecting canine alerted to the vehicle and a probable cause search revealed six kilos of cocaine in hidden compartments. The cocaine has an estimated street value of $600,000.

Martinez was incarcerated at the Preble County Jail. If convicted, he could face up to 11 years in prison and up to a $22,500 fine.

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