A 39-year-old New Jersey man was indicted by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg on drug charges stemming from his arrest on an interstate highway in Lebanon County, U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith said Thursday.
The grand jury on Wednesday returned an indictment against Manel Smith, charging him with possession with intent to distribute heroin. He was driving through Lebanon County when his vehicle was stopped, according to Smith’s office. The U.S. Attorney’s office did not indicate when and where the arrest took place. They also did not indicate where Smith lives in New Jersey.
The case was investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The maximum penalty under federal law is 40 years in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
In late June, state police at Lickdale reported that Smith of Newark, N.J., was pulled over on Interstate 78 in Bethel Township shortly after noon on June 20 by a trooper, who clocked Smith going 92 mph in a 65-mph zone.
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The trooper said in the affidavit of criminal complaint that his suspicions were raised by an overwhelming odor of air freshener inside Smith’s 2008 Malibu Chevrolet and multiple Tree air fresheners hanging by the center console. While speaking with Smith, the trooper said, he also observed multiple indicators of criminal activity, although he did not specify what they were in the complaint.
After Smith denied the trooper’s request to search the vehicle, the trooper called for assistance from another trooper and a drug-sniffing dog. When the dog alerted on the vehicle, a probable cause search was conducted and a gym bag containing approximately 15,350 bags of heroin was found in the vehicle’s trunk.
