MCSO seizes $2.1M worth of meth, counterfeit Oxycodone during traffic stop on I-40

article

Bags of methamphetamine were found along Interstate 40 on January 23, 2020. (Mohave County Sheriff's Office)

KINGMAN, Ariz. - The Mohave County Sheriff's Office says when deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle heading eastbound Interstate 40, the occupants threw suitcases out of the car that broke open, causing a cloud of white powder to be strewn across the road on Thursday.

When the deputies caught up to the vehicle near milepost 65, they detained the car's occupants and secured the bags that were thrown.

"Approximately 20.4 pounds of a white crystalline substance that field-tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine that was strewn across the Interstate was recovered, along with a 1.2-pound bundle of counterfeit Oxycodone pills believed to be fentanyl-laced. A second suitcase containing another 25.4 pounds of white crystalline substance that field-tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine was also located near the broke-open suitcase along the Interstate," stated MCSO's Anita Mortensen.

Guadalupe Astorga, 44 of Tulare, California and Pedro Aguirre, 37, of Indio, California, were arrested, along with a 17-year-old male juvenile. They are accused of dangerous drug possession, dangerous drug possession for sale and transportation of dangerous drugs, all felonies. Astorga and Aguirre were transported to the Mohave County Adult Detention Facility. The 17-year-old was booked into the Mohave County Juvenile Detention Center.

"The Pinion Pine Fire District responded to decontaminate and remove any existing residue on the interstate," said Mortensen.

MCSO says the estimated street value of the drugs is approximately $2.1 million.