About 130 grams of cocaine was discovered by members of the Central Iowa Drug Task Force in an Ames apartment on Thursday.

Derrek Michael Wester, 2644 Hunt St. No. 9, was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, a class B felony, and violation of the tax stamp act, a class D felony.

According to police reports, Wester, 23, arrived home while officers were conducting the search of his apartment. He faces up to 30 years in prison if found guilty on both counts.

“It’s a good amount of cocaine,” said Capt. Gary Foster, head of the Central Iowa Drug Task Force. “I’m sure this was intended for distribution.”

Foster said officers also found thousands of dollars in the apartment. He said Wester doesn’t live alone at the apartment, but none of his roommates were suspected of being involved.

“It was a good investigative effort,” Foster said. “Information came to light just recently that provided the impetus for a search warrant.”

Foster said he fears this seizure shows that the availability of cocaine in Ames is on the rise.

“Methamphetamine has been the drug of choice in the Midwest for the last few years,” Foster said. “It seems to me that we’re seeing a revival of cocaine in the community as well.”

Since April, Foster has been the head of the task force, which consists of officers from the ISU Police, Ames Police, the Story County Sheriff’s Office and the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.

“As a result of the efforts of the officers on the task force, [the cocaine] won’t be distributed now,” Foster said.