Police: Traffic stop yields 26 pounds of pot

Delaware State Police arrested two Philadelphia men Friday after a traffic stop turned into a pot bust.

A trooper posted on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway north of Biddle's Toll Plaza around 1:45 p.m. saw a 2012 Ford Taurus speeding in the southbound lane, according to police.

Police conducted a traffic stop just south of the toll plaza and made contact with the driver, 25-year-old Marquis Maddox. Investigators said Maddox turned over his license, which a computer check revealed was suspended out of Pennsylvania.

The car's rental agreement did not list Maddox as the primary driver and stated no additional drivers should be allowed behind the wheel, police said. Officers requested a tow truck and conducted an inventory search of the car before it was hauled away.

Investigators said they found in the Taurus' trunk a large box which neither Maddox nor 30-year-old passenger Torrance Lomax claimed. A state police K-9 indicated there were drugs in the package, according to authorities.

The car was towed back to Troop 9 and a search warrant was obtained for its contents. Police said they found 26 pounds of marijuana inside the sealed box in the trunk.

Maddox and Lomax were both arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession with the intent to deliver and second-degree conspiracy. Maddox is also charged with speeding, driving without a valid license and driving without consent of the owner.

Both Maddox and Lomax were jailed at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in lieu of $72,102 and $72,000 cash bond, respectively.