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CEDAR CITY — A Utah Highway Patrol trooper recently pulled over a car in southern Utah for a minor traffic violation and found an estimated 15 pounds of methamphetamine.
The stop was made on April 25 on I-15 near Cedar City. A car that was following another car too closely and did not signal while changing lanes was pulled over, according to an Iron County Jail booking report.
"The driver was very nervous and could hardly speak while I was talking to him," the trooper wrote in the report.
The driver and passenger claimed they had been in California for a week and Las Vegas for a couple of days visiting family, the reports states. They claimed they were headed to Colorado. A search of the car using a drug sniffing K-9 resulted in the discovery of cocaine and meth, according to the report.
"A probable cause search revealed 15 one-pound packages of methamphetamine. Fourteen packages were found in a diaper box on the back seat and one package was found under the driver's seat," the report states. "The street value of the drugs discovered in the car are $670,000. This case will likely go federal."
The street value of the drugs discovered in the car are $670,000. This case will likely go federal.
–Booking report
Eduardo Soltero-Estrada, 22, and Jose Luis Casillas-Cervantes were each charged in 5th District Court with felony drug distribution.
Cervantes told police that while they were in California, "they went to a movie theater. He stated that when they came out of the movie theater that the box containing the drugs had been left on the back seat of the vehicle," according to a search warrant affidavit.
