This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol will tell you: Traffic stops are like a box of chocolates — you just never know what you're going to get.
WHP Sgt. Stephen Townsend said that a routine traffic stop to check the paperwork of a big rig hauling automobiles first turned up one vehicle on the trailer not listed on the driver's log book Tuesday morning.
A subsequent search, utilizing a drug-sniffing dog, found more than 240 pounds of "high grade" marijuana stuffed in the trunk of that car and another on the semi's trailer.
That illicit green booty, discovered on Interstate 80 about 9 miles east of Evanston, is believed worth some $1.7 million in street sales, the WHP said.
The contraband is believed to have originated in California and passed through Utah on its way into Wyoming. WHP said it was destined for the Detroit area.
Troopers arrested the truck's 50-year-old driver and booked him into jail on suspicion of felony counts of possessing a controlled substance with intent to deliver.