He packed 138 pounds of meth, cocaine and heroin into his truck’s wheels, Texas cops say

Austin police say they pulled over Armando Martinez for a simple moving violation — because the pickup he was driving early Tuesday afternoon had no front license plate.

But after they searched the truck, that violation turned into jail time for the 43-year-old, according to Travis County jail records.

The arresting officer said Martinez appeared nervous during the traffic stop, telling the officer that the truck belonged to his mother, who he said lives in small town along the Texas-Mexico border, KXAN reported.

But he couldn’t keep his story straight about where he was going, and he was also carrying an expired Tennessee driver’s license, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by the station.

So the officer got permission to search the pickup and requested help from a K9 unit.

The officer noted in a police report that there were visible tool scuff markings on the lug nuts of all four wheels of the vehicle. KEYE reported that the K9 officer also alerted to the possible presence of drugs near the truck’s tires.

Martinez was detained, and officers took the truck to a secure location to continue the investigation. Martinez was pulled over along Interstate 35 northbound in south Austin, near the Onion Creek Parkway exit.

When officers took off the rims, they found several metal boxes inside the truck’s wheels, according to KXAN. Police say that inside the boxes, they found baggies adding up to 82 pounds of cocaine, 50 pounds of methamphetamine and 6 pounds of heroin, KEYE reported.

Martinez remained in Travis County Jail on Saturday, facing three charges of delivery of a controlled substance, a first-degree felony, according to jail records. His bail is set at $300,000.