Illegal Immigrant With Drugs Worth $863,000 Arrested In Utah

Police officers in Utah arrested a man, an illegal immigrant, Saturday with drugs worth $863,000 in his car. His 16-year-old son was also present in the car during the time of the arrest, but detectives did not think the teenager was involved with possession or distribution of drugs.

Jose Olegario Lopez, a 44-year-old from Mexico, was under investigation by the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force and the Utah County Special Enforcement Team as he reportedly sold large quantities of narcotics. The officers followed him after he left for an overnight trip to California for an unknown reason. He was located on I-15 near Benjamin while returning to Utah.

Detectives asked a deputy in a marked vehicle to conduct a vehicle stop for a traffic violation. The deputy activated his emergency equipment but Lopez reportedly didn’t respond and continued driving. He had to be boxed in by detectives in unmarked cars before he stopped.

During the initial search, detectives found a small amount of cocaine in Lopez’ pocket. A warrant was secured after a K-9 unit indicated the presence of drugs in the car and the police found a sealed box. According to the jail report, the box was taped shut and was kept in the trunk of his car. When opened, it was found to contain numerous vacuum-packaged bags that had a white crystalline substance. Field testing revealed it to be methamphetamine. Weighing over 16.5 pounds, it was estimated there were 75,700 individual doses of the drug, with a street value of about $757,000.

The box also had several larger “bricks” that were opened by the detectives, who found they also contained a white crystalline substance. On being field tested, the substance tested positive for cocaine. There was 2.35 pounds of cocaine, which amounts to over 10,500 individual doses, worth about $106,000 on the street.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Lopez was an illegal immigrant living in Salt Lake City. Sgt. Spencer Cannon of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said Lopez was from the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, which is infamous for its drug cartels. He was deported eight times and had eight aggravated reentry violations. After ICE agents confirmed Lopez was in the country illegally, officers sought an immigration hold on him.

A press release also stated Lopez had connections to drug trafficking operations outside Utah and was known to bring drugs into Utah on a regular basis. He was jailed on two first-degree felony charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, a child endangerment charge, for failing to respond to the command of an officer and a class A misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia, local news channel KUTV reported.

A judge ordered Lopez to be held without bail. His son was released into the custody of his mother who the police said was not involved in drug activity.