A 63-year-old Vancouver man is being held in custody after Salmon Arm RCMP found seven kilos of cocaine hidden in a piece of car stereo equipment on Jan. 24.
John Callarec made appearances in Salmon Arm Provincial Court on Jan. 25 and 26, and is now officially charged with trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. He has been ordered held in jail pending a bail hearing, which took place Tuesday after the Observer’s press deadline.
Callarec alerted police attention when an officer with RCMP Traffic Services checked the license plate on the car he was driving and noted it should have been sporting an “L” sign for a new driver.
While dealing with the driver during the routine traffic stop, the officer noted several things which made him suspicious and began to investigate the driver for drug possession.
On further investigation, the officer noticed the unusual construction of the subwoofer box and located a hidden compartment inside, which contained the cocaine packages.
