A second person has been charged in connection to an alleged drug trafficking case that led to the discover of 5 pounds of methamphetamine.

Cori J. McGinnis, 25, of Warrensburg, was charged earlier this week with first-degree drug trafficking. She was taken into custody April 14 in the parking lot of the Warrenton Walmart.

McGinnis was a passenger in a vehicle belonging to Samuel H. Coleman, 32, of Pleasant Valley. He also was charged with first-degree drug trafficking and remains in the Warren County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

The meth allegedly found in the car had a street value of approximately $272,000 and is considered one of the largest to date in Warren County, according to Sheriff Kevin Harrison.

According to the probable cause statement, McGinnis told police she was being paid $300 for her involvement.

The arrests were part of an ongoing investigation by the East Central Drug Task Force and its member agencies, according to Harrison. Investigators were conducting surveillance in the area of Walmart due to information that a drug courier was going to stop in the area for a delivery.

Harrison said the chunks of meth that were seized were the largest he has ever seen.

“In my memory, I don’t think we ever have seized this quantity of meth,” he told The Record. “To me, it’s alarming that individuals are set up in our community and dealing this.

“The bond speaks volumes. To me, the bond is indicative of the priority being placed on this by the prosecutor and the judge.”

When the suspect arrived at Walmart, he kept moving and parking his car at different spots in the lot, Harrison said. Warrenton police officers initiated contact with Coleman due to the suspicious behavior.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Department’s K-9 team of Deputy Ed McCormick and dog Bronto, responded to the scene and located five bags hidden in a speaker box in the rear of Coleman’s vehicle. Each of the bags weighed approximately a pound, police said.

Harrison applauded the work of the local law enforcement agencies who assisted in the bust.

“We are working well together,” he said. “In my 27 years, the work and the communication is better than ever before.”