Local
Traffic stop near Ash Springs leads to major drug seizure, federal charges
A 26-year-old man faces federal charges after a traffic stop on U.S. 93 in Lincoln County led to the seizure of suspected methamphetamine and fentanyl. Authorities say the drugs were found in vacuum-sealed packages inside storage totes in his pickup.
A traffic stop near Ash Springs led to the seizure of more than 700 pounds of suspected methamphetamine and fentanyl and federal charges against a 26-year-old man, according to a criminal complaint.
A Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy stopped a pickup driven by Francisco Joel Garcia Farias on U.S. Highway 93 on Oct. 13 after observing it traveling above the speed limit, the complaint alleges. A trained drug-detection dog alerted to the vehicle, and officers searched it, finding 13 large storage totes containing vacuum-sealed packages.
Authorities say they recovered 187 packages weighing a combined 677 pounds, along with 13 brick-shaped packages weighing 30 pounds. Field tests on samples indicated methamphetamine and fentanyl, respectively, according to the complaint.
Garcia Farias is charged with possessing at least 400 grams of a fentanyl mixture and at least 500 grams of a methamphetamine mixture with intent to distribute. The allegations have not been proven in court.