3 pounds of Meth Found in Car
A 31-year-old Texas resident, Kelli Nicole Drake (also known as “Lady Jade”), was driving her rented 2014 Nissan Maxima through Hudsonville recently, when a Michigan State Police trooper pulled her over. The stop was apparently conducted for a routine civil infraction traffic violation. However, it has been proposed on a number of occasions that out of state license plates attract unwanted attention to your car. And in this case, where Drake’s rental had Vermont plates, this may well have been the case.
She was pulled over by MSP officers and, for reasons that have yet to be revealed, a narcotics dog was brought to the scene. According to a search warrant affidavit filed in the Grand Rapids District Court, the K9 unit officer indicated the presence of drugs in the vehicle. Police searched the car and found what is being labeled the largest drug haul in western Michigan for years.
Drake was discovered to have three and a half pounds of crystal meth, and eleven and half ounces of cocaine in the trunk of her car. According to an agent from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the total street value of Drake’s drugs exceeds $180,000. He described these amounts as far exceeding ordinary user quantities.
Drake was arrested the same day and transported to the Kent County Jail. But although the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a complaint in September, one day after her arrest, they dropped the complaint the following month, so as not to interfere with an ongoing federal investigation into the situation. More than four weeks after that, the indictment finally came through.
Drake is now facing federal drug trafficking charges. She has been charged with knowingly possessing methamphetamine and cocaine with intent to distribute. This is a felony under federal law, that could earn her years behind bars in a federal penitentiary if she is convicted. In addition to the criminal charges, Drake is also facing the possibility of criminal forfeiture proceedings for the $2,952 that officers found in her car.
She is currently free on an unsecured $50,000 bond. However, no information is available regarding her next court date.