Thanks to observant police work and expired Georgia license plates, the Michigan State Police on Friday scored the largest seizure ever of crystal meth in the state’s Fifth District State Police jurisdiction, and also the largest in recent history from a traffic stop anywhere in the state of Michigan following a routine traffic stop in Covert Township of Van Buren County. State Police say the bust marks “a significant disruption” of organized drug activity in the state.
Authorities tell us that on Friday, June 4th, at approximately 4:40 pm, a routine traffic stop led to the seizure of a substantial amount of crystal methamphetamine – 50 kilograms.
The investigation began with a traffic stop initiated by Michigan State Police Fifth and Sixth District Hometown Security Teams (HST) working on northbound I-196, near mile marker 13 in Covert Township. The vehicle was pulled over for an expired Georgia license plate.
Troopers assigned to the Homeland Security Team are highly skilled and specially trained in criminal and drug interdiction. While speaking with the two people in the vehicle, troopers observed signs of criminal activity, and obtained verbal consent from the driver to search the vehicle.
A complete search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of approximately 50 kilograms of crystal methamphetamines wrapped in 51 different packages. The estimated street value is more than $1 million.
The passenger, a 34-year-old man from Mexico, was arrested and lodged for possession with intent to deliver methamphetamines and resisting and obstructing an officer. The driver, a 30-year-old woman from California, was arrested and lodged for possession with intent to deliver methamphetamines and providing false information to a police officer. Both are being held at the Van Buren County Jail. Their identities are being withheld pending arraignment.
State Police say that this successful interdiction represents “a significant disruption of one of the narcotic trafficking organizations that has been victimizing Michigan residents.”
According to F/Lt. Richard Pazder, MSP Regional Commander of Southwest Michigan Enforcement Team, “In recent years, drug overdoses were killing more people than car crashes and crystal methamphetamine was contributing to those numbers. This seizure should be a somber reminder of the magnitude of the ever-increasing threat we are facing.”
“Additionally,” Pazder notes, “Narcotics trafficking organizations have changed the overall drug landscape in Michigan. As little as five years ago, methamphetamine production happened in much smaller quantities, being produced at the local level by clandestine laboratory operators with knowledge of drug production. Now, nearly all the methamphetamine that is seized is suspected of being tied to foreign or multi-national drug cartels. These cartels have flooded the drug market with a low-cost, potentially lethal drug that is highly addictive and increasingly easy to obtain.”
