A Hialeah man who deputies say was illegally transporting diesel fuel in his truck was arrested Wednesday during a traffic stop on Interstate 75 in Golden Gate, sheriff’s reports said.
Yoel Viera-Suarez, 30, was charged with unlawful conveyance of fuel, a felony.
Arrest reports say Viera-Suarez was driving a 2003 Dodge pickup on I-75 around 4 a.m. when deputies stopped him near mile marker 99 for having illegal window tint.
Deputies smelled “an overwhelming odor of diesel fuel” coming from the back of the truck, which was concealed by a bed cover, reports said.
Viera-Suarez told deputies that he had a fuel tank in the back of the truck, reports said. He said he drives a freightliner-type truck and that he uses the tank to refuel, reports said.
Investigators became suspicious “because legitimate truck drivers would refuel their trucks at a gas station,’’ reports said.
A search of the truck turned up a large fuel tank containing several gallons of diesel fuel, reports said. The tank was homemade and not approved by the state Department of Transportation for carrying fuel on a public highway, reports said.
