U.S. Homeland Security Investigations in Vermont arrested a real estate agent

U.S. Homeland Security Investigations in Vermont arrested a real estate agent from Rhode Island and seized about 27 pounds of cocaine from the would-be smuggler in Franklin County. Freddy Rodriguez, 38, of West Warwick, R.I., was found with more than 12 kilograms of cocaine as he prepared a nighttime load for a kayak to head north from Highgate to meet another vessel coming from Canada early Tuesday. The cocaine seizure in Franklin County near the international border is one of the largest in Vermont in recent memory. Federal agents said Rodriguez was well-known to them from previous marijuana-smuggling events in northern New Hampshire. Rodriguez had 55 pounds of marijuana when he was arrested in Stewartstown, N.H. in 2021 — and along with his two associates, they had 243 pounds of marijuana and $4,000 in cash, but the outcome of that case was not disclosed.