U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that Kennie Santos-Payano, age 26, a resident of Kissimmee, Florida, was sentenced to 51 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon for possession with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride.
According to court records, on September 25, 2019, a Louisiana State Police Trooper conducted a traffic stop in Madisonville on Interstate 12 eastbound on a vehicle bearing a Florida license plate.
The stop was based on a traffic violation.
Shortly after the traffic stop, troopers deployed a trained and qualified K-9 drug detection dog, and the dog performed a free air sniff test. The K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.
A subsequent search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of 8.5 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride.
