On I-95, speed, drugs and a special effort to stop them

Interstate 95 is the busiest highway on the east coast, running from Miami to Maine straight through North Carolina. For 50 miles, I-95 runs through Nash County.

So far in 2024, deputies there have stopped over 1,000 people for various reasons on the interstate and U.S. 64 and 264.

Most traffic stops are routine. But the interstate intercept team also confiscates cash, drugs and even sometimes finds criminals wanted for arrest.

On Tuesday, officers pulled over a driver for speeding and found more than $100,000 in cash.

"After the officer walked up, (he) detected the odor of marijuana in the car which prompted a search. He ended up making a very large cash seizure," said Sheriff Keith Stone.

A Nash County drug dog quickly hit on the smell of drugs on the money.

"We took the fuel from the fire and removed money from the highway that won't be funding marijuana, cocaine or fentanyl. It is a success," Stone said.

That was one of dozens of stops made by the interstate intercept team while WRAL Investigates rode along. The officers, from Nash County and neighboring jurisdictions, are working together to make the highly trafficked interstate safer."

Stone described I-95 as "one of the deadliest highways in the U.S. for traffic accidents, because of the speeds."

He said interstate intercept is "probably one of the most dangerous jobs in law enforcement. You don't know who you are dealing with. We get people out here wanted for murder, for violent offenses."

The joint operation is done four times per year in an effort to cut down on speeding and other common offenses –seatbelt use, following too closely, changing lanes without signaling.

Most stops start with a speeding vehicle.

"We are looking for the inattentive one or the one running 100 miles per hour," he said.

While WRAL Investigates cameras rolled, law enforcement officers pulled over driver after driver doing more than 90 mph in a 70 mph zone. Then came a white SUV doing just 45 mph.

Deputies searched that car and asked the driver to step out.

"He doesn't have a driver's license, but he has a past – everything from drunk and disruptive," Stone said. "Secure his car and go bond him. "He can't be driving up and down the road."

A few minutes later, Stone spotted a driver texting and driving. That driver, too, was driving without a license.

For Stone and the intercept team, what may start out as speeding is often just the tip of the iceberg.

"Criminals are going to do criminal conduct," Stone said.

Plenty of drugs are trafficked up and down I-95 through North Carolina.

"Everything killing our Americans today – mainly fentanyl – is coming from the border and coming across and into our interstates, into our communities," Stone said. "What we stopped today may stop criminal activity in another community. They will be glad we are on I-95 when narcotics are not getting in their homes."