Traffic stop in Utah County leads to large fentanyl bust
Jul 5, 2023, 6:30 PM
The Utah County Sheriff's Office is pictured in Spanish Fork on Friday, Dec. 4, 2020. Photo credit: Yukai Peng, Deseret News
SPANISH FORK, Utah — A traffic stop early Wednesday morning on northbound I-15 led to nearly 25 pounds of fentanyl pills being seized.
According to a news release from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy stopped a Toyota Tacoma near Spanish Fork at about 1:30 a.m.
The release further state, the driver of the vehicle drove for more than a mile before pulling over to the side of the freeway. Due to the behavior of the driver, the deputy called in for a K9 to search the exterior of the vehicle.
The K9 provided law enforcement with a positive signal of the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.
In the subsequent search of the vehicle, law enforcement personnel discovered 10 clear plastic packages filled with almost 2.5 pounds of small blue pills, commonly known as fentanyl.
As the evidence was collected, the release states, “There was a total weight of the pills of 24.75 pounds, or 11,250 grams. With this kind of drug there are about 10 pills per gram, for a total of about 112,250 pills, or 112,250 doses.”
Photo credit: Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
Additionally, deputies found a small amount of cocaine during the search of the vehicle.
The driver has been identified as 31-year-old Enrique Rivera Castro, of Herriman. He has been booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of the following: Possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute; possession of a controlled substance; altering vehicle compartment for contraband; no insurance; no valid driver’s license; failure to operate in single lane; improper license plate illumination.
A judge has ordered that Rivera Castro be held without bail.
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