FREEDOM TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WJW) — Portage County deputies seized 24 pounds of methamphetamine pills connected to a Mexican drug cartel during a traffic stop last week.
Deputies stopped a driver on Feb. 1 along Interstate 80, according to a Facebook post by the department. They spotted “criminal indicators” and requested to search the vehicle, but were denied. They then brought in a K-9 officer, who smelled drugs in the car.
Deputies found several bags of multi-colored pills in a cargo area in the vehicle’s rear hatch, weighing in total about 24 pounds. They were first believed to be MDMA, or ecstasy, but testing later confirmed they were methamphetamine.
The driver admitted he brought the pills from out of state, and he was headed to a destination near Portage County in Ohio.
“It was determined that the narcotics seized in this case are in direct connection with the Mexican drug cartel,” reads the post.
The driver is now charged with a first-degree felony count of trafficking in drugs. He has a prior federal conviction for dealing crack cocaine, and was also caught intending to distribute crack.
Deputies believe the more than 53,000 pills seized were going to be sold as ecstasy pills. At $25 per pill, deputies estimated the street value at about $1.34 million.
