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The Utah Highway Patrol's drug bust blitz on Interstate-80 ended this weekend with bags of seized marijuana piled high. Troopers confiscated nearly 300 pounds in three days.
This is the third project the UHP Task Force has tackled this year, but it's the most successful so far. Out of 320 traffic stops, 14 cars had large amounts of drugs, cash or guns. Troopers say they would've been happy with two cases, so this was really something to be proud of.
"I wouldn't be surprised if next week they're detouring around Utah to ship their marijuana out," said UHP Sgt. Steve Salas.
The 285 pounds of marijuana troopers confiscated this weekend is worth a total street value of just over $1 million. They also seized 3 ounces of cocaine, $7,800 cash and a handgun.
The reason this project was so successful: timing. Marijuana is harvested at the end of October in Northern California, packaged, and then shipped on I-80 right through Utah.
Troopers started the blitz Thursday night in Summit County. They pulled drivers over for traffic violations.
"It's not a matter of we're looking for a certain type, a certain demographic of people, like a race or age. It's based on a high volume of traffic stops. It's really a numbers game," explained UHP Lt. Chris Simmons.
Simmons arrested the youngest suspect, who was 25 years old and extremely nervous. "The guy's got a map on his seat, three Red Bulls. I ask him where he's going. He says, ‘I'm going to a family reunion.' Then I inquired who's side, mother's or father's, and it stopped him dead in his tracks," Simmons said.
"They'll probably change their smuggling techniques or tactics in the future," Salas said.
How? Troopers say semis already are being used. "If you take 4 pounds of high-grade marijuana and you put it in the back of a 53-foot trailer with 80,000 pounds of frozen chicken, it's more difficult to locate," Salas explained.
Troopers say only two out of 14 suspects are willing to divulge information about who they were working for.
E-mail: ngonzales@ksl.com
