EMERY COUNTY, Utah, Aug. 29, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Highway Patrol Troopers made two traffic stops within two hours on Tuesday, and were able to seize 61 pounds of meth and as many as 1,000 oxycodone pills.
The first traffic stop was at about 8:39 a.m., on eastbound Interstate 70 in Emery County, a Utah Highway Patrol statement says. The second stop was in the same approximate location, at 10:20 a.m.
“Both traffic stops yielded large amounts of methamphetamine, totaling 61 pounds. 500-1000 oxycodone pills were also located in one of the vehicles,” the UHP statement says.
“These stops were unrelated but were stopped in the same general area, within a couple of hours of each other.”
The first vehicle stopped had two male occupants.
“During the course of the stop, the trooper became suspicious of criminal activity, specifically drug trafficking,” the statement says.
“A narcotic dog was deployed and subsequently gave a positive indication to the presence of narcotic odor coming from the vehicle. A probable cause search was conducted which yielded the following illegal narcotics, concealed inside the vehicle: 20 pounds of methamphetamine 500-1000 (30 mg) Oxycodone pills.
“It is suspected the drugs originated in Southern California and were destined for Canton, Ohio.”
During traffic stop two, the troopers again suspected drug trafficking.
“A narcotic dog was deployed and subsequently gave a positive indication to the presence of narcotic odor coming from the vehicle,” the statement says.
“A probable cause search was conducted which yielded the following illegal narcotics, concealed inside the vehicle: 41 pounds of methamphetamine. It is suspected the methamphetamine originated in Compton, California and was destined for Omaha, Nebraska.”
The UHP statement noted that a dosage unit for one use of meth is generally 1/10 gram, so 61 pounds methamphetamine was equivalent to about 276,690 doses.
The estimated street value of that much meth was about $1,383,450 the statement said.
