Bad move: OSP traffic stop turns up big pot haul

A Georgia man’s moving truck ran a stop sign near Klamath Falls Sunday morning, leading to a traffic stop and search that turned up nearly 300 pounds of marijuana taped and hidden inside the furniture — which in turn put the driver behind bars, Oregon State Police reported.

Around 10 a.m., an OSP trooper stopped the moving truck as it headed east on state Highway 140E just outside Klamath Falls for the stop sign traffic violation, said Capt. Bill Fugate.

The driver, Kim Mason, 24, of Duluth, Georgia, told the trooper he was traveling from Ashland to Salt Lake City, Fugate said.

The trooper became suspicious of the driver’s behavior and asked for a consent search of the vehicle, which was granted.

The trooper discovered the U-Haul was loaded with recently purchased furniture from Goodwill which appeared to be extensively blanketed and taped. Inside the furniture, troopers discovered 296 pounds of processed marijuana, Fugate said.

Mason was arrested on a Class C felony charge of exporting marijuana items from Oregon over 16 ounces, as well as possessing more than 32 ounces of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor. He was lodged at the Klamath County Jail on those charges, as well as failure to obey a traffic control device, Fugate said/.

In Oregon, an individual over 21 years of age may possess up to one ounce of marijuana outside their home. It is unlawful to export marijuana from Oregon. Visit http://whatslegaloregon.com/ for further information.