Published: May 21, 2008 11:32 am            

DPS scores million dollar drug bust

Danie M. Huffman

wdreporter2@yahoo.com

In the two years Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper David Smith has worked in Parker County, he has seized thousands of pounds of drugs.

His most recent bust came Sunday afternoon around 1 p.m., seizing more than 700 pounds of marijuana.

The drugs carry a street value of more than $1.1 million.

Smith said he was conducting a regular commercial vehicle inspection on a tractor trailer at the 394 mile marker, just east of the Brazos River.

Smith noticed the driver’s log book and shipping papers did not add up.

“He picked up a load in L.A. and was taking it to Augusta,” Smith said. “He took the long way. I thought it was unusual to take such a long break so soon into his trip. He started getting more and more nervous.”

Smith gained consent to search the truck and said he found the drugs hidden behind crates of furniture for GIs stationed in Korea who are in the process of moving back to the United States.

“As soon as he opened the door, I could smell the pot and an orange air freshener,” he said. “He had the crates stacked so you could not see. I carried a ladder and pulled it out and his head sank as soon as he saw it.”

Smith found the marijuana on a pallet in cardboard boxes.

“They had used the legitimate load to create a void for the dope to be in,” Smith said. “They call them ‘cover loads.’”

The driver of the truck was identified as Garth Anthony Miller Sr., of Deer Field. Fla.

He was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana.

Although Miller is not a U.S. citizen, Smith said he was in the states legally on a work visa.

“Atlanta is a big hub for drug distribution,” Smith said. “He had to have a forklift to lift this load. He obviously had help.”

He added Miller covered up the drugs with the soldiers’ belongings.

“The government and the soldiers had no clue of what was going on,” Smith said.

The trucking company, A & G Miller, Inc., is owned by Miller, who is contracted through a broker who, in return, is contracted by the military to transport loads for service men.

“When they get to where they’re going with the drugs, they unload it and replace the crate and no one is the wiser.

DPS Senior Trooper John Forrest Sr. and Smith are responsible for the majority of major drug shipments seized on Interstate 20 in Parker County.

“Between Forrest and I, we’ve gotten 11 loads within the last 12 months, totaling more than $25 million in various drugs,” Smith said.

Sunday’s bust makes Smith’s sixth major score since he’s been in Parker County.

Miller was taken into custody and booked into the Parker County Justice Center.

He was released Monday on $20,000 bond.

        

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