A tip about a commercial dumpster filled with empty dog food containers last year led to charges filed this month against a 39-year-old man narcotics investigators believe ran a million-dollar marijuana trafficking operation in Lubbock.
A Lubbock County grand jury returned an indictment against Ryshawd Tywone Irving charging him with a second-degree felony count of possession of between 50 to 2,000 pounds of marijuana, which carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison.
He is represented by attorney Michael King, who did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Investigators believed Irving trafficked hundreds of pounds of marijuana from California that was delivered to Lubbock through UPS and packed in dog food containers to avoid detection,
according to court documents.
The investigation yielded nearly 430 pounds of marijuana valued at between $944,000 to $1.4 million, according to court documents.
The estimated street value of one pound of marijuana ranges between $2,200 to $3,200 depending on the quality, the documents state.
A narcotics investigation in Lubbock
The charges stem from a Lubbock police narcotics investigation that began in July 2025 when narcotics investigators were tipped off about suspicious packages being delivered to a duplex in the 5800 block of Emory Street.
Meanwhile, police were alerted that a commercial dumpster at an orthodontics clinic in the 800 block of Frankford Avenue was filled with empty dog food containers and shipping boxes from California bound for the Emory Street residence, which was less than half a mile south.
The dog food containers didn't match the listed weight on the shipping boxes, which were from California, where marijuana dealers in Lubbock commonly source their product, according to court documents.
In November, UPS officials called police after they intercepted four packages of dog food containers that contained sealed packages of marijuana.
The packages contained a total of 84 pounds of marijuana.
Investigators determined that the packages were addressed to a person at the Emory Street residence. Investigators believed the name of the person to which the packages were addressed was fake, the documents state.
Utilities for the address was under Ella Denise Price.
On Nov. 22, 2025, members of the Anti-Gang Task force in Lubbock delivered the packages to the address, which were left on the front porch.
Meanwhile, a drone used to watch over the scene, captured a man, identified as Irving, arrive at the residence in a GMC pickup truck and carry the boxes into the garage.
Investigators obtained a warrant to search the residence and found an additional 175 pounds of marijuana.
According to documents, the house was bereft of clothes or any personal effects that showed someone lived there. However, the house did have utilities connected.
Investigators believe Irving, whose residence is in the 6200 block of 18th Street, used the residence to store the drugs, commonly known as a "stash house."
A warranted search of Irving's home on 18th Street yielded 39 pounds of marijuana, drug ledgers and $18,970 in cash, according to court documents.
Investigators also found 132 pairs of shoes valued at more than $33,770, 76 articles of clothing that still had tags on them and a necklace valued at $150,000.
The property and cash is being seized by the state as investigators believe Irving bought them with profits from his marijuana trafficking operation.
Investigators found in the center console of Irving's vehicle his wallet, which had two cards for a storage unit in the 1600 block of North Frankford Avenue.
In one of the units, investigators found three duffel bags weighing about 60 pounds that contained 42 vacuum sealed marijuana packages. The second unit had two plastic totes weighing about 71 pounds that contained numerous bags of marijuana, the documents state.
Court documents state Irving hadn't reported working income since 2011.
However, investigators obtained Irving's financial records that showed he used online money transfer apps to receive money that he deposited into a business account for a limited liability company he established.
A review of Irving's bank records from January to October 2025 showed he deposited close to $220,000, court records show.
Irving was arrested that day and booked the same day the Lubbock County Detention Center and was released the next day on bond set at $100,000.
However, in December, investigators were alerted that UPS officials reported that a delivery was refused at a residence in the 600 block of 29th Street. The rejected package also contained a dog food container holding more than 17 pounds of suspected marijuana in 14 bundles.
Gabriel Monte is the criminal justice reporter for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in Texas. Have a news tip for him? Email him at gmonte@lubbockonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Tip about dog food bags leads to charges in Lubbock marijuana operation
