Traffic Stop Nets Credit Card Crooks

It started out as a fairly routine traffic stop in Vinton and turned into a federal case.

On Sunday, Izel Henderson Mayes, 23, and Brian Charles Smith, 21, were stopped Sunday night while driving eastbound on Interstate 10 for a traffic violation. It seemed ordinary enough, but when the car the pair was driving got searched, it turned into a whole new deal.

During the search of the rented car, police turned up 97 fake credit cards and several bags of receipts. The receipts were for about $2,500 dollars worth of merchandize all charged, presumably on stolen credit cards, in the Houston area. The pair's troubles didn't end there.

A body search of one of the men turned up balloons of heroin which lead to a charge of 'introducing contraband into a penal institution.'

Next thing you know, at least one of the credit cards goes back to the now famous 'Target security breach' and The U.S. Secret Service getting involved in the case.

Bond for Mayes was set at $172,000 while Smith's bond was set at $150,000.