$1 MILLION WORTH OF COCAINE SEIZED IN PIERSON TRAFFIC STOP

It was about 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon when law enforcement officers observed a white Buick roll through a stop sign at the intersection of Stone Avenue and Emporia Road in Pierson. Officers pulled the car over to investigate, and quickly learned that the man behind the wheel, 23-year-old Gisifredo Serrano, was driving without a license. Then they asked for permission to search the vehicle, and Serrano agreed.

When officers popped the trunk to take a look inside, they found approximately 74 pounds of cocaine. The drugs were packaged for distribution in 40 separate bricks of cocaine, some stuffed into a plastic trash bag, others in a backpack and still more in a cardboard box. The drugs have an estimated street value of $1 million. Serrano was charged with trafficking in cocaine and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach. He was additionally cited for driving without a valid license and violation of a traffic control device.

Serrano, who lives in Pierson, is being held without bond.