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Courtesy Las Vegas Metro Police
Rahul Grewal, 52, was arrested Thursday after an estimated $10.9 million in cocaine was found in his vehicle.
By Tovin Lapan (contact) 
Friday, March 22, 2013 | 3:47 p.m.
Rahul Grewal, 52, was arrested Thursday after an estimated $10.9 million in cocaine was found in his vehicle.
Authorities arrested a truck driver hauling more than 280 pounds of cocaine worth $10.9 million after he was stopped Friday in the northern part of the valley, Metro Police reported.
The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force stopped the 18-wheel truck at 3:45 a.m. for a traffic violation while it was driving north on Interstate 15 at Craig Road, police said.
About 284 pounds of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $10.9 million, was found in the vehicle, Metro Police said. The driver, Rahul Grewal, 52, was arrested and taken to the Clark County Detention Center, police said.
Grewal faces counts of trafficking a controlled substance and transporting a controlled substance for sale, police said. His bail was set at $20,000, according to jail records.
The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force is made up of law enforcement officers from Metro Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Nevada Highway Patrol, Henderson Police and the Mesquite Police.
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
20k bail for a $10.9 million coke bust...I'm sure he does'nt know anyone with the $ to bail him out and get him out of the Country.
was just about to say that Hunter!
$20,000 dollars bail is sure low bail for someone caught in possession of this much cocaine. I guess the Judge setting the bail must have been using some of the drugs or else he/she just thinks drug possession is a joke.
Are we sure it wasn't just a shipment of Paris Hilton's fancy powdered gum?
These guys - if it were me, I think I'd be driving my truck in a way that WOULD NOT draw the attention of law enforcement.
His bosses aren't going to be too happy with him!
ssenjo -
Read between the lines. A drug task force making a traffice stop on a truck? They knew what they were going to find ahead of time.
The brothers that lost $10.9 million are going to be a lot more interested in talking with Rahul than the Court system. Being on the loose after loosing these goods, the probability is nearly 100% that he'll never sign up for Medicare or Social Security. I guess the Judge thought he'd save the State the cost of a trial.
The over/under on Rahul disappearing is about 72 hours.
i bet if you search this guy real good you'll find he's got these phone numbers from these cross-border arizona DOPER tour participants in his pocket:
Mark Hutchison, R-Las Vegas, Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, R-Las Vegas, Sens. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas; Ruben Kihuen, D-Las Vegas; Scott Hammond, R-Las Vegas; and David Parks, D-Las Vegas
i bet this guy's had dinner and maybe a delivery with all of them, at least once.
and i bet he's the one they call for advice and directions when they need to find a DOPE SHOP, just like the one they're now over in arizona.
after all, Segreblom's a lawyer for a DOPER plea deal and Parks can give advice on how to "drop the soap" for maximum feel-good effect
they all fit right in with this guy, yesssireeee.
Shykid, that over/under still has me laughing. Good one.
This guy gets caught with $10.9 million in coke and is held on $20,000 bail. The French guy that sat in the cockpit of an airliner is being held on $1 million bail. What's wrong with this picture?
I agree with everyone else...20k bail for a guy that had almost 11 million in coke in his possession. I'm sure he'll get out and angry people will get a hold of him, except the police will be watching him so closely it would be dumb for anyone in the drug trade to ever contact him again unless they want to be caught through association.
"The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force stopped the 18-wheel truck at 3:45 a.m. for a traffic violation while it was driving north on Interstate 15 at Craig Road, police said."
Lapan -- I see nothing here about how these cops with the fancy name ensured this search and seizure was reasonable. Grewall is an Indian (as in India) surname. How good is his English?
"I guess the Judge setting the bail must have been using some of the drugs or else he/she just thinks drug possession is a joke."
itsumo -- the real joke is how you and your ilk ignore the Bill of Rights in favor of cops searching and seizing whatever they want without a warrant. Unless the cocaine was in plain sight at the traffic stop, they needed a warrant. Lapan should have filled us in.
Each cop involved here swore an oath to support, protect and defend the Constitutions. That includes the Fourth Amendment and its Nevada counterpart. Each of us as citizens should be alarmed by our cops violating their oaths. But what can be expected from a nation of men who allow their little daughters to be fondled and their elderly mothers forced to remove their diapers for inspection just because their molesters wear badges??
"Indifference to personal liberty is but the precursor of the State's hostility to it." -- United States v. Penn, 647 F.2d 876 (9th Circuit, 1980), Judge Kennedy dissenting
Yeah, they just stopped this guy and suddenly bells went off in the cops mind that something wasn't quite right. They had no inkling. They had no idea. It was just a big guess like stopping granny. Obviously something in their mind was reasonable...they didn't just stumble upon 11 million in coke. You'll never understand the methods, the information, the know how they use in some of these stops. In the end they become reasonable.
A quick trial and execution if found guilty.
"A quick trial and execution if found guilty."
nez212 -- apart from your lynch-mob post, why? Who exactly did this Grewall hurt?
"...how little does the common herd know of the nature of right and truth." - Socrates in Plato's "Euthyphro" (399 B.C.E.?)
WOW and double WOW. The photo shows that he probably has nephews or cousins cooking in the local restaurant or at the local DQ.
Small happens in big dogs!
To killer b. sadly our bill of rights have been eroding for years. I am surprised they even stopped him at all, because they don't want the drugs anymore they want the money. If they stopped him and found money they get to keep it. It doesn't go to schools or hospitals it goes to their budget.
Common sense dictates that this was no random stop/search. They obviously were tipped off somewhere along the way and apparently had enough to go on to get a search warrant issued in advance. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just barking off the wrong 'violation of rights' tree. @KillerB - I find it incredulous that you would pose such a question as 'who exactly did this guy hurt' - you can't seriously think that but I'm sure you do.
I read that to be $20 million in bail!
"His bail was set at $20,000, according to jail records"
Sound like a cheap get out of jail card to me! We'll never see this guy again! That is, if he's not stopped on his next run!
If it was pot, the bail would have been $20 million! Something smells here!
For everyone that thinks this man has a 20,000 dollar bail is being misled. One of his charges carries a 20,000 dollar bail, they other charge is no bail. That's what it looks like to me anyways. Check out clark county inmate search and you put the persons name in there and you'll get a lot of info. Why is this person not in federal custody?
Who figures the value of these drugs? The $10.9M figure given in this story seemed to be too high so I checked on the 'net. I saw values, in the U.S., listed as ranging from $8,000 per lb. to $27,000 per lb.
Calculator says:
284lbs. x $8,000 = $2,272,000
284lbs. x $13,000 = $3,692,000
284lbs. x $27,000 = $7,668,000
A couple points to help educate:
First, the bail set is just the standard bail when booked, which unfortunately seems to always be too low in comparison to other places and doesnt take into account the full circumstances. A judge will probably raise that later.
Second, KillerB plain view is not the only way they could get in the vehicle to search. With it being the task force that stopped it, if consent was not given they either applied for a search warrant with the information they had or had enough probably cause to search it without a warrant. The courts have ruled that you can search a vehicle without a warrant if you have both probable cause and it is "occupied and mobile" at the time of the stop. Your internet law degree has failed you.
"To killer b. sadly our bill of rights have been eroding for years."
flyermart74 -- that's why I picked that quote. Which as you can see below others can't seem to comprehend its meaning.
"@KillerB - I find it incredulous that you would pose such a question as 'who exactly did this guy hurt' - you can't seriously think that but I'm sure you do."
azsk8fan -- crimes mean someone was injured. "Illegal" drugs are still profitable because there's a market for them. Evidently you're one of those who still swallows the propaganda -- illegal drug = harm. Try thinking for yourself next time.
"Second, KillerB plain view is not the only way they could get in the vehicle to search. . .The courts have ruled that you can search a vehicle without a warrant if you have both probable cause and it is "occupied and mobile" at the time of the stop. Your internet law degree has failed you."
gohugatree -- your guessing aside, the threshold you posited is correct, there must be probable cause. That involves more than rumors and just making it up. Hence the Constitution's requirement for a warrant. And I raised the language barrier because this is starting to show a pattern -- how can someone who isn't fluent in English consent to anything? Especially when surrounded by cops?
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others." -- Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-82
Looking at the photo where is the other $10 mil. of the coke?
The article mentions nothing about this guy being "fluent" in English or not. One does not need to be "fluent" to understand "can we search your vehicle"? It's funny how these guys can understand "you want the combo meal"? and other easily understandable words but somehow they are simply in the dark with "can we search your vehicle"?..gimme a break. He's likely guilty as sin. There's no pattern. One French Canadian pleading ignorance isn't a pattern.
KillerB,
You sure are making a lot of assumptions about a situation you have very little information about. Detectives who work for groups like HIDTA are some of the most knowledgable people when it comes to search and seizure. They know exactly what they have to have to search a vehicle without a warrant and will get a warrant if they need to. They aren't in the "catch and release" business, so they make sure their police work is good. With that said, reading "law" on Wikipedia and various internet forums doesn't mean you actually know what you're talking about.
There is a bill in the Legislature that would stop the abuse and maiming of horses and steers and it should be a slam dunk, but LOBBYISTS have rallied and got dummies like Tick Sergerblom and Tom Collins to support them. Someone please tell Tick Segerblom and Tom Collins that instead of worrying about protecting Hispanic Rodeo's and their "rights" to trip horses and pull tails on steer's, that Nevada has become a huge hub for narcotics trafficking because we are close to the Mexican trail and are central for distribution. There are many causes they should be fighting, protecting animals abusers is not one of them. Oh yes, them please vote them out next term for being ignorant to the real issues in Nevada. Southern Nevada has serious issues and idiots and drunks running the state are not helping us.
@KillerB - you can't seriously believe that cocaine doesn't cause harm to people now can you? And yes, I probably AM, as you put it, "one of those" who DO believe that drugs cause harm - both the legal and especially the ILLEGAL ones - even POT. I make no apologizes whatsoever for my beliefs either.
I have seen, first hand, the devastating effects of drugs on a persons body and brain. My own brother, after years of drug abuse to his own body and brain continues to cook what little brain he has left with almost 30 yrs. of methodone use - I have no - none - ZERO tolerance ....period... end of story.
Hi bail is now at 2 million.
Somebody tipped off the cops ...ya think
Wholesale (by the pound) and 'street price' don't mean the same with coke. It's not 'cut yet'-- the street price would be after it's cut. Price can double or triple that way.
And no one knows if the Cops had or didn't have a warrant. Why would you assume they wouldn't?
This is not your typical highway stop, kids, this was a slam-dunk. Someone just got themselves a get-out-of-jail card for turning this one.
js