New trial set for man accused of transporting 452 pounds of cocaine

By Dave Toplikar

Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011 | 10:51 a.m.

A new trial date has been set for a man accused of smuggling a large stash of cocaine — 170 bricks totaling 452 pounds — into Southern Nevada from California in August.

Gaston Danjou, 51, who has been charged with trafficking in cocaine and transporting a controlled substance, today waived his right to a speedy trial and Judge Kathleen Delaney reset his trial to 10:30 a.m. Jan. 23 in Clark County District Court. He had been scheduled to go to trial Oct. 17.

Danjou was indicted by a grand jury after being arrested Aug. 10 near the Jean exit on Interstate 15 by a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper who was suspicious at the way the trucker was driving erratically. The trooper said he swerved into an adjacent lane three times.

According to police, under questioning, Danjou appeared suspiciously nervous, the trooper wrote in an arrest report. The truck driver, who was transporting construction materials on a flatbed for a private company, said he was from Québec and was the owner of the truck.

When Danjou allowed officials to search the truck, they found the cocaine in 10 duffel bags in a hidden compartment in the truck’s sleeper area. They estimated the street value of the 452 pounds of cocaine to be $16.4 million.

According to officials, the truck had left the central valley of California and was en route to the Midwest. It was unclear how Danjou obtained the cocaine, but investigators believe he was working for someone else because of the amount found on the truck.

Danjou, who pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment in August, is in Clark County Detention Center on $1 million bail.