AURORA, Neb. (KSNB) – A suspicious vehicle encounter at a remote gas station turned into a major drug seizure Jan. 13 in the early morning when Nebraska State Patrol troopers discovered nearly 170 pounds of cocaine during a search of the abandoned vehicle.
The incident occurred just before 11 p.m. at the Aurora interchange gas station at mile marker 332 on I-80. When a trooper approached the suspicious individual at the station, the man, identified as Manjot Singh, 25, of Sacramento, California, quickly abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot into the surrounding area.
What began as a manhunt quickly escalated when authorities arrived at the scene. The Nebraska State Patrol called in backup from the Aurora Police Department and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office to help locate the fleeing suspect.
While the search was underway, an NSP K-9 unit made a critical discovery, the canine detected the odor of controlled substances emanating from the abandoned vehicle. A thorough search of the vehicle revealed:
