NEPHI — A minor traffic stop in Juab County resulted in two men being arrested Monday for allegedly smuggling people and drugs.
Carlos Misael Orellana Amaya, 26, was booked into the Juab County Jail for investigation of human smuggling.
Monday morning, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a vehicle for having an illegal window tint.
"The driver of the vehicle did not know who the passengers were," according to a police booking affidavit, which said his passengers all had different stories of where they were traveling.
A police K-9 was called to the scene and indicated the possible presence of drugs in the car.
"The vehicle was searched, resulting in four large packages of suspected methamphetamine, two packages of blue pills labeled with 'M' and '30,' and a package of a white powder believed to be cocaine. All four occupants of the vehicle were secured in handcuffs and transported to the Juab County Jail, where they were interviewed by agents with the State Bureau of Investigation," according to the affidavit.
One passenger claimed the drugs were his and said he was told to contact Orellana to get a ride to Salt Lake City. Orellana "admitted to being paid to traffic the three passengers across the country," with one passenger going to Salt Lake City and the other two to Maryland, the affidavit states.
"(Orellana) admitted to being paid to traffic humans across the country and knowing that it was illegal to do so. (He) admitted to making at least 40 trips smuggling people across the United States," the arrest report says.
Diego Enrique Tovar Garcia, 28, was also arrested for investigation of two counts of drug possession with intent to distribute and fentanyl trafficking.
