Handwritten license plate leads to arrest and $120K drug seizure on I-15 – St George News

File photo of a Utah Highway Patrol vehicle on Interstate 15 near Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

NS. GEORGE – A man was charged with drug crimes after a keen-eyed Utah Highway Patrol officer noticed a vehicle with a handwritten license plate on Interstate 15 in Iron County.

This 2015 photo for illustrative purposes shows traffic behind a traffic stop for criminal offenses in St. George, Utah, June 26, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

On Sunday, the soldier was patrolling I-15 when he noticed a vehicle with tinted windows facing north with a license plate that appeared to be “homemade,” according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.

The soldier pulled out onto the autobahn and caught up with the vehicle, which was supposedly pulling a slow-moving semi-trailer behind it. At this point the soldier activated his emergency lighting.

When the vehicle pulled away from the highway, the police officer also noticed that one of the brake lights in the rear window of the vehicle was tinted. The driver and the sole occupant presented their California driver’s license, which was returned as suspended or revoked. A check of the documents of the returned vehicle does not reveal a valid registration in the files.

The driver, identified as 41-year-old Francisco Velasquez, was sweating while speaking to the police officer, according to the report, and his eyes were bloodshot and he showed signs of tremors – all signs of drug use.

During a search of the suspect, officers allegedly found two small shackles of a white substance similar to methamphetamine. In the case of an unauthorized driver and a vehicle without a valid license, a tow truck was also called in and an inventory of the car was carried out before the seizure.

During the search, the soldier found three large bundles under a rug near the back seat that contained suspected methamphetamine weighing more than 7 pounds.

The suspect was arrested and transported to UHP headquarters. During an interview with police, the suspect reportedly said he used methamphetamine before the traffic control and paid $ 2,000 to transport the drugs out of Mexico.

A urine test done in the office showed a positive result for drug use, the soldier noted.

Velasquez was taken to Iron County Jail, where the soldier requested to be held without bail, citing the suspect who “crossed the United States-Mexico border yesterday. He has no connection to Utah and is paid by a criminal organization to haul around the country with a large amount of drugs. “

Stock Image | Photo by Adam1Productions / iStock / Getty Images Plus, St. George News

Velasquez was then jailed for being punished with possession of a second-degree controlled substance with intent to distribute a controlled substance, along with several offenses including possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia, driving with a measurable controlled substance Substance and driving with a revoked driver’s license. He also threatens not to register a motor vehicle, to follow too closely, a taillight and window tinting violation – one violation each.

On Tuesday, the suspect first appeared before District Judge Ann Marie McIff-Allen, who also ordered Velasquez to remain on custody without bail.

Operational pipeline

The value of the narcotics that the suspect allegedly paid $ 2,000 for transportation is estimated at $ 125,000 at the wholesale level. Street-level value can be up to $ 180,000, according to DEA. The state’s transportation infrastructure and the location of Utah make it an important transit area for the transportation of illicit drugs.

According to the US Department of Justice, these factors led to the implementation of the Operation Pipeline, a national program to ban highways supported by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC).

While much of the drugs shipped to Utah by Mexican criminal groups are destined for other areas of the United States, there are groups that also distribute wholesale quantities of these narcotics across the state. According to the National Drug Center, the Mexican criminal groups that transport and distribute drugs in Utah typically have a structured membership hierarchy and are usually controlled by a single family.

Drug seizures from private vehicles, such as the Velasquez weekend arrest, are reported to Operation Pipeline by state, state and local law enforcement agencies operating nationwide along the highways and highways most commonly used to transport illicit drugs and drug proceeds.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

Cody Blowers grew up in South San Francisco, California. A 2013 graduate from Colorado Technical University, Cody earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in paralegal studies. In the course of her studies, she discovered that writing is her real passion and is committed to credible, integrated reporting. Cody joined St. George News in 2015, and when she’s not busy chasing the news, she can usually be chased after her young granddaughter, Kali.