Trooper seizes 25 pounds of meth during southern Utah traffic stop

CEDAR CITY — Two men accused of transporting an estimated 25 pounds of methamphetamine have been arrested in southern Utah.

Faily Chavez, 29, and Ramond Juan Allen Jr,, 26, were each arrested for investigation of drug possession with intent to distribute.

On Tuesday, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper was in the median of I-15 near Cedar City when he reported spotting a vehicle "that appeared to be following too closely to a pickup truck in the left lane." The truck was "actively passing semis that were traveling in the right lane, before transitioning into the right lane. The subject vehicle then did not pass the pickup, but instead changed into the right lane directly behind the pickup," according to a police booking affidavit.

The trooper pulled over the vehicle following too closely and found Chavez was driving and Allen was lying down the front passenger seat with the seat belt tucked underneath him, the affidavit states.

"During the course of my traffic stop I became extremely suspicious of further criminal activity, so deployed my police service dog Leo for a free air sniff," the trooper wrote in the arrest report.

The K-9 indicated the possible presence of drugs and a search was conducted. Underneath the carpet on the front seat passenger side, the trooper found an estimated 25 pounds of meth, the affidavit alleges.

Chavez was previously convicted in federal court in California of trafficking meth and sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. The affidavit says he was still "on federal probation for drug trafficking" at the time of Tuesday's arrest.

Related topics