ST. GEORGE — Three men were arrested after more than 110 pounds of suspected methamphetamine and fentanyl pills were reportedly recovered during a traffic stop that was set in motion on northbound Interstate 15 and ended on Green Springs Drive in Washington City over the weekend.
Washington City Police Chief Jason Williams told St. George News that 95 pounds of methamphetamine and more than 18 pounds of suspected fentanyl pills were recovered during the traffic stop early Sunday morning. He also said the suspected narcotics were valued at more than $15.8 million, when broken down into street-level sales.
The arrest stems from a traffic stop initiated early Sunday morning after an officer heading north along I-15 near the St. George Boulevard exit noticed a blue SUV with Colorado plates swerving in and out of the travel lane. After the SUV crossed over the fog line, the officer decided to follow the vehicle as it exited the interstate at Green Springs Drive.
According to charging documents filed in 5th District Court, the officer stopped the SUV for the alleged lane travel violation near the 200 block of Green Springs Drive in Washington City. As the officer approached, the report states that the driver Limberth Salvador Lopez Peralta, 24, got out of the SUV and started to walk away, until he was ordered to stop and advised he was being detained.
At that point, the report states, Peralta returned to join the two passengers still sitting in the SUV. The front seat passenger was identified as Walter Faley Rodriguez Paz, 31, and in the backseat, officers found Jose Gerardo Pena- Caravjal, 29.
The men were traveling through Utah from Aurora, and when asked, the driver said he had no valid driver’s license and then handed the officer an identification issued out of Honduras.
While interacting with the occupants from the driver’s side door, the officer noticed several vacuum-sealed bags in the cargo area of the SUV that were visible through the window. The packaging commonly is used in the transport of “a large sum of narcotics,” police say, which is when a K-9 team was dispatched to the scene to assist.
As the officer was issuing the citation for improper lane travel, the K-9 was deployed to conduct a free-air sniff around the exterior of the SUV, which is when the animal indicated to the possible presence of narcotics by sitting in front of the driver’s side door, triggering a search of the SUV.
During the search, officers found roughly 100 vacuum-sealed gallon-sized plastic bags that contained suspected narcotics. Officers also recovered another vacuum-sealed bag containing suspected methamphetamine that was cut open and lying on the backseat of the SUV.
“After locating the large sum of suspected illegal narcotics,” the officer noted, “all three suspects were then placed into handcuffs.”
During a search of Paz, officers discovered that the suspect’s front pocket was filled with approximately one ounce of loose powder authorities suspected was methamphetamine. The report also states an agent with the Department of Homeland Security was called in to interview the three suspects, which is when all three suspects allegedly admitted they were aware there were illegal narcotics inside of the vehicle.
All three men were arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked into jail early Sunday morning, each facing two second-degree felony counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and remain in custody on a no-bail hold.
While the incident is still under investigation, preliminary estimates that were included in the charging documents indicated that in total, approximately 75 pounds of methamphetamine and another 12-15 pounds of suspected fentanyl pills was recovered by police. It was after the substances were tested and weighed, Williams said, that officers realized the amount of drugs seized was “much, much higher.”
He also said that while this was the second-largest drug seizure for the department in terms of weight, it was the largest seizure in terms of estimated value.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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