February 21, 2025
VAN BUREN, Ark. — On Thursday, February 20, 2025, around 12:30 p.m., Arkansas State Police (ASP) stopped a 2018 tractor-trailer traveling eastbound on Interstate 40 near the 2-mile mark in Crawford County for a traffic violation.
Troopers searched the trailer and discovered 1,705 pounds of illegal marijuana concealed in 42 boxes and a large duffel bag.
The driver, Dawit Asefa, 48, of Silver Spring, Maryland, and the passenger, Ashenafi Mamo, 39, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, were arrested and transported to the Crawford County Detention Center.
Both men face felony charges of Trafficking a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
