This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
A speeding stop led to the arrests of two men and the seizure of 115 pounds of high-grade marijuana on Interstate 80 just outside Evanston, the Wyoming Highway Patrol says.
WHP Sgt. Steven Townsend said the suspects — a 35-year-old Margate, Fla., man and a 24-year-old Cithonia, Ga., man — were being held Tuesday in the Uinta (Wyo.) County jail. They had been booked on felony charges of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance.
Along with the marijuana, with an estimated street value of $694,400, WHP troopers seized more than $3,000 in cash.
A trooper reported pulling over the suspects' late-model Chevrolet Impala for speeding about 10 p.m. Sunday, about 2 miles east of the I-80 interchange leading into Evanston, and just east of the Utah-Wyoming border.
"During the traffic stop the trooper noticed that the driver and the passenger appeared to be very nervous," Townsend said. The trooper called for a drug-sniffing dog team to respond to the scene. The animal alerted to the presence of marijuana, and a subsequent search found the pot, in five packages, hidden inside the rental vehicle, as well as the cash.
"It is believed the two men were transporting the marijuana to a location east of the state of Wyoming," Townsend said, but he did not offer more specific details on the destination.