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SALT LAKE CITY — November was a busy month for Utah Highway Patrol troopers looking for drug traffickers.
On Nov. 30, UHP troopers pulled over a vehicle on I-80 near State Street for a routine traffic violation. But because of the suspicious behavior of the driver and passenger, a drug-sniffing K-9 was called to the traffic stop.
The police dog found 112 pounds of marijuana in the back of the car, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.
That bust was one of many for troopers during the month.
During November, investigators from the Utah Department of Public Safety and UHP made 43 drug-related traffic stops and seized about 2,000 pounds of marijuana, 15 pounds of cocaine, 4 pounds of psychedelic mushrooms, 4 pounds of meth and 95 ecstasy pills.
It's probably one of our busiest months that we can remember.
–UHP Lt. Jared Garcia
"It's probably one of our busiest months that we can remember," said UHP Lt. Jared Garcia.
In October, troopers made 36 drug-related traffic stops resulting in little less than 900 pounds of marijuana being seized.
November is traditionally the time marijuana growers in California harvest their crops and ship them, resulting in a typically busy month in Utah, particularly along I-80 and I-70, Garcia said.
"The majority of these loads of drugs are headed to the Midwest and places like Minnesota and Chicago," he said. "We anticipate December will continue to be busy."
