This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Federal drug agents seized $500,000 worth of methamphetamine Saturday, slowing the local traffic of an international drug network.
But Drug Enforcement Agent Frank Smith said the destination may be as important as the source of the 25 pounds of meth and 100 pounds of marijuana taken from a vehicle and a home in Salt Lake County.
Normally, he said, drugs in that amount are seized in Utah only while they are in transit from one major urban center to another.
"This was all coming to Salt Lake," Smith said. "It wasn't just being shipped through. These are drugs that didn't make it to our streets."
The methamphetamine likely would have been adulterated for street sales worth up to $2 million, Smith said.
The two seizures were part of an ongoing investigation of a Mexican drug trafficking organization that extends to both coasts of the United States, Smith said. He would not identify the organization.
Between Saturday's two raids, agents seized 10 to 15 guns and more than $100,000 in cash.