Two men are jailed in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center following a traffic stop by Lafayette Police in which 15.5 pounds of MDMA (ecstasy) tablets were seized. Derrick Jerome Harris, 35, of Meridian, Mississippi is presently jailed on narcotics charges and a minor traffic offense. Rodriques Seals, 36, of Meridian, Mississippi is presently jailed on narcotics charges. Both subjects are being held on a bond of $1.5 million dollars.

During the early morning hours of December 15, 2020, Lafayette Police conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle traveling eastbound on Interstate 10 near mile maker 100. Following the traffic stop a search of the vehicle based on probable cause was conducted. That search yielded the recovery of approximately 15.5 pounds of MDMA tablets which were located in the trunk of the vehicle. The estimated Drug Enforcement Administration street value of the narcotics is $1,038,576.00.

In 2018 media networks reported on what was possibly “the largest Ecstasy bust in northeast Louisiana history” in which at least 10,000 pills were seized by the Mangham Police Department in Richland Parish following a traffic stop. The traffic stop which occurred in Lafayette, Louisiana this past Tuesday represents what is estimated to be three to four times the quantity of narcotics seized in Mangham two years ago, yet it has not garnered attention by local media. Nor has the administration of Lafayette Consolidated Government and the Lafayette Police Department made any public comment regarding the large seizure of drugs within their jurisdiction.