Florence, AZ – Deputies in Pinal County seized more than 500 pounds of methamphetamine in two separate traffic stops last week, leading to multiple arrests and what officials are calling a major disruption to regional drug-smuggling activity.
According to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, the first stop happened on Nov. 6 along State Route 79 in Florence. Deputies pulled over a truck for a traffic violation and conducted a consent search. Inside the truck bed, investigators discovered a professionally installed hidden compartment containing an estimated 400 pounds of methamphetamine.
Deputies said the 21-year-old driver from Phoenix was arrested and faces allegations of possession and transportation of dangerous drugs.
Two days later, on Nov. 8, deputies stopped a similar truck on Interstate 10 for another traffic violation. A PCSO K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics, leading investigators to a second hidden compartment built into the truck bed. This compartment reportedly held 161 pounds of methamphetamine.
A 21-year-old driver from Phoenix and a 19-year-old passenger were arrested in the second incident, both accused of possession and transportation of dangerous drugs.
Sheriff Ross Teeple said the back-to-back seizures highlight a shift in smuggling trends. “Human smuggling is down, but drug smuggling is up. We’ll continue to fight the cartels as they bring these dangerous drugs into Pinal County and across the country,” Teeple stated in the release.
The combined street value of the meth loads exceeds $500,000, according to PCSO. The cases remain under investigation.
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