FROM STAFF REPORTS

Two men face drug trafficking charges after Iredell County Sheriff’s Office deputies seized more than four pounds of cocaine following a traffic stop on Interstate 77.

Sheriff Darren Campbell announced the arrests of Jose Omar Perez Perdomo, 28, of Waterford Lakes Drive, Charlotte, and Jose Ismael Rodriguez Martinez, 23, of Sharon Road West, Charlotte, in a news release Monday.

On Tuesday, February 28, deputies assigned to the ICSO Interstate Criminal Enforcement Team performed a traffic stop on a Toyota 4Runner for a traffic violation on I-77 south near mile marker 63, Campbell said.

While speaking with the driver, Jose Omar Perez Perdomo, and passenger Jose Ismael Rodriguez Martinez, the deputies noticed signs of deceptive behavior, according to the news release.

After Canine Brandi was called to assist with the traffic stop, she gave a positive alert on the vehicle for the presence of illegal drugs, Campbell said.

The deputies then conducted a search of the vehicle and located two packages of cocaine concealed inside the vehicle, according to the news release. The cocaine had a total weight of over 4.4 pounds and a street value of $430,000.

Both suspects were arrested and transported to the Iredell County Detention Center, where each was charged with Felony Trafficking Cocaine by Transport, Felony Trafficking Cocaine by Possession, and Felony Possession with Intent to Sell or Deliver Cocaine.

Jose Omar Perez Perdomo and Jose Ismael Rodriguez Martinez appeared before Magistrate Thompson, who issued each suspect a $500,000 bond.

During the booking process, it was determined that both suspects were in the United States illegally. A federal detainer was placed on each of these men.

“We continue to see the effects of our unsecured borders here in Iredell County daily and the impacts they cause our communities,” Campbell said. “Drugs such as this come in from across the border, where the processing sites and super labs which manufacture these drugs are and where they are transported from. For all intended purposes, we have become a border state here in North Carolina.”