Highway traffic stop near North East nets 180 pounds of pot, two arrests

NORTH EAST — Two men are facing drug charges after investigators confiscated 180 pounds of suspect marijuana during an Interstate 95 traffic stop near North East, according to Cecil County District Court records.

Investigators identified the suspects as Keyang Sun and Yujian Liang, both of whom are 23-year-old residents of Flushing, N.Y.

The investigation leading to the arrests and criminal charges against Sun and Liang started at approximately 9:40 p.m. on Tuesday, when a Maryland State Police trooper stopped a dark blue BMW X3 in the northbound lane of I-95 for allegedly speeding, police said.

The trooper clocked the BMW allegedly traveling 75 mph in a 65 mph zone about one mile south of the North East/Rising Sun interchange and then, after following the suspect vehicle, the trooper stopped it a few miles north of that spot, police added.

While interacting with Sun, who was the driver, and Liang, the trooper “obtained reasonable suspicion to believe that criminal activity was afoot,” according to police. (To avoid compromising future investigations, law enforcement officers do not publicize common indicators of possible criminal activity.)

A backup trooper asked Liang to step out of the BMW, and he obliged, police reported.

“As Liang exited the BMW, one vacuum sealed package containing cannabis fell out of the BMW and landed on the right shoulder,” according to the charging document.

That led to a probable-cause search of the suspect vehicle, in which investigators found and seized 159 vacuum-sealed packages holding 180.2 pounds of suspect marijuana, court records allege. Troopers arrested Sun and Liang at the traffic stop scene, police reported.

Although marijuana, also called cannabis, has been legal in Maryland since July 2023, it is illegal to possess more than 1.5 ounces of it.

Sun and Liang are facing the same three charges, including possession of a large amount of cannabis and possession of cannabis with intent to distribute, court records show.

Liang remained in the Cecil County Detention Center on no bond Thursday night, awaiting his bail review hearing set for Friday, according to court records. Sun also remained in custody on Thursday night, but online court records did not contain information regarding his bond status.