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Richard Piatt ReportingHuge amounts of meth, cocaine and marijuana seized in Davis and Salt Lake Counties. The bust is big enough to put a damper on a lot of drug users' holiday plans. A grand Jury will decide on a list of charges against eight people, and drug task force police say more people could face the drug related charges.
Police say for a couple years these people made a good living dealing a lot of drugs. Some of the people involved are illegal immigrants, sending at least some of that money back to Mexico, which is also where the drugs came from.
More than seven and a half pounds of meth; almost 11 pounds of cocaine; 16 pounds of marijuana, 40-thousand dollars in cash and several automobiles -- all that is now evidence against eight men and women, all facing drug-related charges. The arrests came by surprise four days ago, the result of a year-long investigation.
Lt. Allen Swanson, Davis Metro Narcotics Task Force: "This is actually an ongoing investigation. We actually expect more arrests as the case goes. We did the roundup Friday because we felt like he had identified the major players in Utah."
Lieutenant Allen Swanson says a federal grand jury may decide on more charges against all or some of the eight on Wednesday. In addition, Swanson says more Utah arrests are expected and that there are active investigations in other states, all with a tie to an alleged Mexican drug pipeline that included Utah.
The bust included two locations in Salt Lake County, including a home in West Valley City. People were arrested in Clearfield and at a duplex in Layton, the home of one of the kingpins. Swanson says the drug trade was kept away from there because children lived there.
Much of the profits were shipped to relatives in Mexico, Swanson says. The money flow has now been stopped and so has the supply of drugs in Utah.
Lt. Allen Swanson: "I think there's going to be some unhappy people for the holidays. They're going to have to find another source."
Last week, we were talking about the immigration sting in Hyrum, where people say illegal immigrants were just trying to make a living. The people arrested in this drug bust could say the same thing, they just happen to choose a job that's criminal.
