Trucker finds himself behind bars after traffic stop nets drugs

A truck driver from Oklahoma found himself on the wrong side of the law and inside the Putnam County Jail following a recent traffic stop in Cloverdale.

According to police reports, Francisco Valdovinos, 50, of Choctaw, Oklahoma, was stopped by the Indiana State Police on I-70 near the Cloverdale/US 231 exit earlier this month. 

The trooper noticed the required reflective material on Valdovinos' trailer's rear impact guard was defective. The trooper also noticed the view of Valdovinos was obstructed, prompting him to initiate a traffic stop. 

The stop revealed Valdovinos as the registered owner of the vehicle and president of Camival Logistics, LLC. He told police he had delivered a load of fresh produce to Texas before delivering more fresh produce from Joplin, Missouri to St. Louis, Missouri before coming to Indiana. 

During the stop, police noticed aftermarket modifications were made on the trailer. 

The trooper asked for backup and Putnam County Sheriff's Deputy Josh Deal arrived with a K-9, who provided a positive alert to illegal drugs. The truck was impounded and taken to Curtis Garage, where authorities found a hidden compartment with multiple trap doors located around the blower shaft of the trailer. Police were able to recover 54 kilogram sized packages containing a white powder, which later tested positive for cocaine. 

Valdovinos was booked on a Level 2 felony charge of dealing in cocaine and a Level 3 felony count of possession of cocaine. He is scheduled to appear in Putnam Circuit Court on January 15 and was ordered held on a half a million dollar bond.