A stop for speeding on Wednesday led to the discovery of 43 pounds of meth hidden in a white pickup truck. It happened on I-70 on the western edge of Eagle County when a uniformed deputy with the Gore Range Narcotic Interdiction Team Task Force spotted the truck going onto the rumble strip at 82 mph. The Eagle County Sheriff’s Department says the deputy noticed something was off and a search uncovered a staggering 43 pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside the vehicle.
(Photos courtesy of the Eagle County Sheriff’s Department)
The deputy issued a speeding warning and a K9 was used to sniff the exterior of the vehicle. Quickly the K9 signaled positive alerts for narcotics, confirming that drugs were present – 21 bundles of suspected narcotics, which tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine with a total weight of approximately 43.62 pounds, according to the sheriff’s department.
The driver, 41-year-old Ángel Guadalupe Leon Payan, from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, was taken to the Eagle County Detention Facility. He is being held on a $100,000 bond and is facing the following charges:
~ Unlawful Distribution of a Controlled Substance (Meth)- a Class 1 Drug Felony
~ Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance (Meth) -a Class 4 Drug Felony
~ Special Offender (Meth) -a Class 1 Drug Felony
~ Conspiracy- a Class 1 Drug Felony