Local trooper makes 6-kilo cocaine bust

By LPR Staff

Editor/POST-REGISTER

An average night on duty turned into an extraordinary experience for a Lockhart-based DPS trooper in early November.

On Nov. 20, Department of Public Safety (DPS) Trooper Byron Aldredge seized more than six kilograms of cocaine during a traffic stop in southern Caldwell County.

“He noticed that the back seat o

f the vehicle had been removed,” said Sgt. Darrell Jiral. “The driver consented to a search and he found six bundles of cocaine hidden under a bag in the trunk.”

Jiral said the seizure was among the largest in recent history.

“We haven”t had [an arrest] this size in a while,” he said.

The driver, Lydia Montoya, was arrested and transported to the Caldwell County jail upon her arrest.

“There are several different things they could charge her with,” Jiral said.

Montoya, 41, claimed that she was driving from San Antonio to Houston to visit a sick relative, sources said.

According to Caldwell County District Attorney Chris Schneider, the district attorney”s office has not yet asked for an indictment against Montoya.

Montoya is facing felony charges in Caldwell County which may include a variety of offenses, including Possession of a Controlled Substance.

“We haven”t gotten all of the information yet,” Schneider said.

Kathibliss@post-register.com