UHP finds 390 pounds of drugs in separate incidents


2 photos
Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

ST. GEORGE — Approximately 370 pounds of marijuana and 20 pounds of methamphetamine were seized in separate drug busts by Utah Highway Patrol troopers Thursday.

In each case, the suspect was hauling what are known as "suicide loads," said Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce. “Suicide loads” are large quantities of drugs that the driver attempts to hide in plain sight.

"They just load it and go," he said.

Royce said a person who runs "suicide loads" is willing to gamble big, because if they're pulled over, there isn't a law enforcement officer who isn't going to find the drugs.

Thursday morning, a UHP trooper pulled over a Toyota RAV4 on I-15 in Washington County on a minor traffic violation of following too closely. After approaching the driver, the trooper immediately smelled a strong odor of marijuana, Royce said.

It didn't take long for the trooper to find 370 pounds of "high-grade" marijuana in plastic trash bags in the rear of the car, not hidden, Royce said. A 41-year-old man, whose name was not immediately released, was arrested and booked into the Washington County Jail.

The man was transporting the drugs from San Diego to Philadelphia, Royce said.

Thursday afternoon, another trooper pulled over a Dodge Charger on a minor traffic violation, failure to signal. This time, a suitcase with 20 pounds of meth was found sitting on the back seat, Royce said.

The driver had come from Las Vegas, and the meth was earmarked for the Salt Lake City area, said UHP Lt. Jared Garcia.

On Friday, Gracia addressed the brazenness of the two suspected drug traffickers.

"I think the thing that's a little bit alarming about it is how it's being trafficked," he said. "… Generally, the traffickers try a little harder to conceal it through man-made compartments or natural voids in the vehicle."

But when there's big money involved, Garcia said some people are willing to take big chances in hopes of a big payoff.

(Photo: Utah Highway Patrol)
(Photo: Utah Highway Patrol)

"It's a highly profitable business," he said, adding that "369 pounds of marijuana is worth a lot of money on the street.

"Twenty pounds of methamphetamine has a street value of probably about $1 million by the time you break it down and sell it on street level," Garcia said. "So when you're talking about that much profit in anything, specifically when you're talking about criminal activity, the risk is worth the reward to them.

"I think they're becoming a little bit more brazen. They're playing the numbers game. They really have less to lose, really. It's just the cost of doing business for them," he said.

The incident marked the second significant meth bust in Washington County in the past week.

On Monday, a trooper pulled over a Jeep Liberty near St. George for speeding. But when the driver's story about his travel plans didn't add up, a drug-sniffing K-9 was called to the scene, and 18 packages of meth were found in a hidden compartment under the back seat.

Salvador Santana, 29, was arrested for investigation of drug distribution. He was traveling from Los Angeles to Michigan, UHP Capt. Tayler Kotter said.

In all three busts, the driver was in a rental car, Garcia said. Law enforcers weren't sure what to attribute the spike in large quantity meth shipments to, but say sometimes they come from so-called superlabs in Mexico.

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Pat Reavy

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast