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An Iowa man and his two adult children were arrested after Utah Highway Patrol troopers found 55 pounds of marijuana and a loaded firearm n their vehicle during a traffic stop near Salina.
A trooper stopped the family's SUV on Interstate 70 about 8 a.m. Monday. The officer suspected drug activity and called for K-9 unit with a drug-sniffing dog, UHP said in a news release.
During a search, the animal located the marijuana and troopers found a loaded .32 caliber handgun, UHP said.
Troopers arrested Abel Medina Rios, age unreleased, of Storm Lake, Iowa, along with his 28-year-old daughter Raquel Rios and 26-year-old son Abel Rios. All three were booked into the Sevier County Jail in Richfield on suspicion of felony drug possession, possession with the intent to distribute and possession of a firearm by a restricted person.
Formal charges have not been filed, and it wasn't immediately clear on Tuesday whether any of the Rioses had an attorney.
State police also contacted the police in Storm Lake, who obtained search warrants for the Rios home and found additional quantities of pot and two more guns. Authorities also seized an unspecified amount of crystal methamphetamine, drug packaging material and drug manufacturing equipment, cellphones and more than $2,600 in cash, the UHP said.
Investigations of the Rios family's activities are ongoing in Utah and Iowa, according to UHP.