Florida man, passing through, gets caught with 30 kilos of cocaine

THREE MORE PEOPLE ARE CHARGED WITH DEALING DRUGS HERE THIS WEEK

FORT WAYNE, Ind. ---The Florida man said he was traveling from Peoria to Kentucky and the geography just didn’t make sense to the Fort Wayne Police Department detective on patrol.

The officer had stopped Jordon W. Lanier, 25, around 1 p.m. at the 158 mile marker on U.S. 24 for speeding. Lanier was going 82 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone, the officer noted in a probable cause affidavit.

What was cached in the bed of his black 2019 Chevrolet Tahoe was quite a haul. The news release issued by the Fort Wayne Police Department Monday after the Nov. 6 arrest was understandably celebratory:

30 kilos of cocaine were taken by the FWPD during a traffic stop this week

“On Thursday, 06 November 2025, uniformed detectives from the Fort Wayne Police Narcotics Division made a traffic stop on a black 2019 Chevy Silverado with Florida plates, for speeding. During the course of the traffic stop, a Fort Wayne Police K-9 team did an open-air sniff for the presence of narcotics and gave a positive alert. When the driver was asked to get out of the truck, a Springfield Armory .45 caliber handgun was seen in plain view. Detectives observed a large dog cage with a dog in the bed of the truck. A closer inspection of the cage revealed an after-market, manufactured hide (compartment) on the underside of the cage. When the access panel was removed detectives found approximately 30 individually packaged kilos of cocaine with a street value of value of $600,000 to $800,000.”

Fresh welds looked funny to FWPD; Jordon Lanier

According to the probable cause, Lanier asked if marijuana was illegal in Indiana and confessed that he had two hand rolled marijuana cigarettes in the glove box.

Sure enough, officers found the “blunts" and a black .45 caliber Springfield Armory handgun between the driver’s seat and the center console.

One round was in the chamber with numerous rounds in the magazine. Another magazine was found in the driver’s door pocket. A brown paper bag on the back seat contained THC vape pen cartridges, court documents said.

Other confusing words Lanier said to the officer included that he was in a vehicle crash in Indianapolis and he was on the phone with insurance and missed his turn.

The cocaine was hidden in a large metal dog box with fresh welds on the inside. The rear portion had a void big enough to hide 30 individually wrapped bricks. Each brick was approximately a kilo of cocaine which means a total of 30,000 grams of the “rich man’s drug.” One kilo weighs 1,000 grams. 

According to the website recovered.org, a single gram of cocaine typically costs $120 and an 8-ball (3.5g of cocaine) is priced at around $300.

Lanier from Ocklawaha, Florida was charged with Felony 2 cocaine dealing and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. He has retained an attorney and is due in court Nov. 26.  Lanier is no longer at the Allen County Jail but online court documents indicate his bond was $100,000.

Three other people charged with dealing felt the long arm of the law this week.

Stephanie Ann Carter, 64, was charged with fentanyl and methamphetamine dealing, according to a probable cause affidavit. Three times in August and September, a confidential informant was sent to buy drugs from her , amounts weighing anywhere from one gram to 10 grams, court documents said.

From left: Stephanie Carter, Megan Murphy, Marlon Fincher

Carter was charged Nov. 6 with three counts of dealing fentanyl or methamphetamine, a Level 3 felony, and money laundering, a Felony 6 felony, but it’s not clear what prompted the money laundering charge.

Carter’s online address registers to the Chapel Oaks apartments in 46803 , the zip code that consistently appears as the one with the highest poverty rate in the state, although Terre Haute’s 47807 may be first this year, with 46803 second, according to online data.

She is no longer at the Allen County Jail and had a bond of $50,000.

Megan Murphy, 24, of Albion, was also picked up for drug dealing after a confidential informant purchased cocaine in one transaction and fentanyl in another in September.

The fentanyl was under one gram, eliciting a Felony 5; the cocaine was between one and five grams, a Felony 4. She was charged Wednesday and is currently at the Allen County Jail with a $100,000 bond, according to online sources.

Finally, Marlon Fincher, 31, was charged with three counts of dealing fentanyl on Nov. 4, 6 and 10, either at Mike’s Car Wash or Dick’s Sporting Goods (although for one buy he chose Wal-Mart at Jefferson Pointe and then changed his mind.), court documents said.

The buys between $250 and $300 were for an 8-ball of fentanyl which is 1/8th of an ounce or 3.7 grams. 

His charge was a Level 2 felony “because he dealt more than 5 grams of Fentanyl in less than 90 days,” court documents explained. 

He is in jail without bail until his court hearing on Monday.