DALLAS - A two-door black 2004 Infiniti driven by police after being seized at a drug house came fully equipped with air-conditioning, sporty chrome rims – and nearly 50 pounds of cocaine hidden in secret compartments.
Undercover Dallas officers who drove the car for two months were surprised to learn that the car had a few secrets of its own.
An officer cleaning the car discovered the $400,000 worth of cocaine carefully hidden in hydraulically controlled compartments Wednesday morning at the northeast patrol station.
"These compartments have recently been more and more popular with drug operations," said Deputy Chief Julian Bernal, commander of the narcotics division.
"The difficulty with this is that because of the use of hydraulics, you normally don't have any indication that the car has been altered in any way. They use multiple switches and relays, and you have to know the sequence in order to make the panel open."
The car was seized in mid-March, when police officers responded to a report of gunshots and masked individuals beating a man behind a house in the 3900 block of Antigua Drive in northwest Dallas.
When police arrived at the address, they found blood on a 1999 Honda and a trail of blood leading into the home, Chief Bernal said.
No one was inside, but police found $34,000 cash, dope scales and a small amount of cocaine in the house. Police also seized the Honda and the Infiniti.
"The narcotics division did search both of the vehicles," Chief Bernal said. Nothing was found.
The Honda was sold at auction. Chief Bernal said police plan to contact the person who bought it to find out if drugs were hidden in the Honda, too.
On May 7, the Infiniti was put into police service, Chief Bernal said.
Now, police are trying to find out who owned the cocaine.
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