Estimated read time: 1-2 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
Jed Boal ReportingDrug agents this morning shut down a slope-side drug dealing operation in the town of Alta. They busted five people and seized marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms.
State Agents and the Alta Town Marshal raided two rooms at employee housing for the Peruvian Lodge, which is owned and operated independently from the Alta Ski Lift Company.
Several months ago, the State Bureau of Investigation got an anonymous tip that some employees were dealing drugs out of their rooms at the Peruvian Lodge. They notified the town marshal who asked the state to investigate.
Undercover agents moved in and made undercover buys of marijuana. When they showed up with warrants this morning, they seized 11 ounces of marijuana and two pounds of mushrooms--a combined street value of about ten thousand dollars. They also came up with drug paraphernalia and one thousand dollars in cash.
Capt. Michael Kuehn, Utah Highway Patrol: “We had undercover agents go to the lodge and investigate and build a case. It took about three months to culminate in the arrests made yesterday."
Two of the employees were from Utah, the other three from out of state. They ranged in age from 19 to 27. They each face up to five years in prison if convicted.
The Peruvian Lodge had no comment.
