Traffic stop on I-75 leads to Miami man's arrest on drug trafficking charges

Deputies say they found marijuana in center console, trunk of BMW

Ibrahim Makhoul, 24, of Miami, was arrested on felony drug trafficking charges after deputies say they found more than 40 pounds of marijuana in the center console and trunk of his BMW during a traffic stop on Interstate 75.

NAPLES, Fla. – A traffic stop by deputies on Interstate 75 led to the arrest of a Miami man on felony drug trafficking charges and the seizure of more than 40 pounds of marijuana.

Ibrahim Makhoul, 24, was stopped by Collier County Sheriff's Office deputies Tuesday while driving a black BMW with illegally tinted windows on I-75.

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Deputies questioned Makhoul and his passenger and determined that there was probable cause to search the car. They tried to open the center console and trunk, but they were both locked.

When deputies asked Makhoul how to open them, he said he didn't know, deputies said.

Makhoul claimed that they were locked when he bought the car and never tried to open them.

"It's craxy," Makhoul told deputies, according to an arrest report. "I don't know how they gave me the car like that, like with the middle thing shut and the back thing shut, too."

Deputies eventually opened the center console and found an unsealed package with marijuana inside. They also opened the trunk and found two large, plastic bags containing small packages of marijuana.

Deputies said they also found paperwork with Makhoul's name on them inside the trunk, even though Makhoul claimed that he'd never been in the trunk.

A passenger in the car ran from deputies during the search. He climbed a fence, swam across a canal and ran into some nearby woods. Deputies searched for the man, but he got away.

Deputies said the 43.5 pounds of marijuana confiscated had an estimated street value of $120,000.