MEMPHIS, TN – The West Tennessee Violent Crime and Drug Task Force interdicted a large quantity of marijuana during a traffic stop this week on Interstate-40 which led to the arrest of three men from New York on felony drug charges.

Special Agents with the Interstate Interdiction Unit on Tuesday afternoon seized 1,233 pounds of marijuana bundled in green plastic-wrapped packages and stuffed into 12 large boxes from a van stopped for following too closely on eastbound I-40 near the Airline Road exit.  A drug dog on the scene of the traffic stop gave a positive response for the presence of narcotics inside the van.

Agents arrested three men from Bronx, New York.  The defendants, Carlton Depass, 52, Jeffrey Lewis, 46, and Robert George Bailey, 37, are each charged with possession of a controlled substance (marijuana) with intent to manufacture, deliver or sell. The amount of marijuana seized makes this charge a class A felony, which carries a standard sentence of 15-25 years in prison.  Depass and Lewis are each being held in the Shelby County Jail on $2 million bonds; Bailey is being held on $1 million bond.

The Interstate Interdiction Unit has been a key element to stopping the pipeline of drugs routed through Memphis and sold in our community and in other cities. The Unit is comprised of

five officers assigned from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and five officers from the Memphis Police Department.  Two additional grant paid agents assist in operational activities with the Unit.  The Interstate Interdiction Unit was established by the Drug Task Force in January 2000. 

The West Tennessee Violent Crime and Drug Task Force is a joint agency comprised of law enforcement officers assigned from various law enforcement agencies in four of west Tennessee’s judicial districts.  Of those officers, six work solely for the Task Force and not for separate law enforcement agencies.

The judicial districts include the 25th Judicial District (Fayette, Hardeman, Lauderdale, McNairy, and Tipton Counties); the 28th Judicial District (Crockett, Gibson, and Haywood Counties); the 29th Judicial District (Dyer and Lake Counties); and the 30th Judicial District (Shelby County).  The Task Force is administered by the District Attorneys General of these districts.  David McGriff is the director of the Task Force.  Assistant District Attorney Robert J. Carter is the Task Force’s legal advisor.