The North Hollywood, Calif., man indicted on federal drug charges after state police found 44 pounds of cocaine in a van in which he was riding has been ordered held without bond until trial.

Edward F. Caraballo, 25, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess the cocaine, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti, Pittsburgh.

Magistrate Judge Robert C. Mitchell ordered Caraballo detained during a hearing.

Federal officials will have the benefit of a statement Caraballo made to investigators, who said he admitted he was transporting the cocaine.

Caraballo was a passenger in a mini-van traveling 72 mph at 11:30 a.m. Sunday on Interstate 80 in Pine Township, state police said.

Trooper Richard W. Houk pulled over the New York-registered van, looked under it and found a hidden compartment.

After a drug-sniffing dog indicated the presence of drugs, police obtained a search warrant and found 20 kilogram-sized bags in the hidden, electronic compartment. A kilogram weighs about 2.2 pounds.

Caraballo admitted that he was transporting the cocaine, valued at $500,000, from California to New York to someone named Nina, the Drug Enforcement Agency said.

Caraballo was being paid $3,000 for the trip, and planned to split it with the driver, Gilberto C. Soto of Sun Valley, Calif., DEA said. Soto was unaware of the drugs in the van, Caraballo told DEA.

Rivetti said he believes Soto had been released from federal custody.

Houk said no local charges will be filed, but Rivetti said the investigation has not been closed at the federal level.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Maurice Cohill, Pittsburgh.