Police find $1.2M in suspected cocaine in Washington City after alleged lane violation on I-15

Stock image by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — More than 14 pounds of cocaine was seized Sunday night in Washington City, one of several cocaine seizures in Southern Utah reported since June.

Shortly before 11 p.m. on Sunday, an officer stopped a black SUV on northbound Interstate 15 near the Washington Parkway Exit for a lane violation after observing the vehicle swerve out of its travel lane.

According to the probable cause statement filed with the courts, while the officer spoke to the driver, 40-year-old Devon Peak of Omaha, Nebraska, Peak said the vehicle was rented and handed officers paperwork indicating that the SUV was rented for three days and that Peak was the sole driver of the SUV. Also with Peak, was 50-year-old Stanley R. Teel of Aurora, Colorado, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

As the officer was busy writing up a warning for the lane violation, a Hurricane Police K-9 team responded to the scene to assist.

After arriving on scene, the K-9 conducted a free-air sniff around the exterior of the SUV and indicated at the possible presence of narcotics. Both occupants then were asked to exit the vehicle and a search of the SUV ensued. At that point, the driver reportedly told officers she had used marijuana in Las Vegas earlier that same day.

During the search, officers found a blue duffel bag containing six square blocks consistent with the type of packaging typically found with drug trafficking, according to the report.

Upon further inspection, each block appeared to contain a kilo of a white powdery substance. A subsequent field test of the substance tested positive for cocaine.

More than 14 pounds of suspected cocaine was recovered during a traffic stop on northbound Interstate 15 near mile marker 13 in Washington City, Utah, Sept. 5, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the Washington City Police Department, St. George News

Washington City Police Chief Jason Williams told St. George News that combined, the six packages weighed more than 14 pounds.

If broken down into street-level sales, the cocaine was valued at more than $1.6 million, according to a 2019 report released by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The two occupants were taken into custody. When asked, both denied any knowledge there were drugs in the vehicle and requested an attorney, the report states. And all questioning ceased.

The suspects were transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility each facing one second-degree felony count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Cocaine’s comeback

After years of remaining stable, a 2020 study by the Centers for Disease Control revealed that cocaine overdose deaths tripled from 1.6 per 100,000 in 2013 to 4.5 per 100,000 five years later.

The study also indicates that death rates were highest for adults aged 35-44, and overdose deaths involving cocaine combined with opioids increased at a faster pace than the rate of cocaine deaths without opioids.

Similarly, the seizure of suspected cocaine over the weekend is one of several that have occurred in Southern Utah involving narcotics seizures that include a kilo or more of cocaine.

Last week, a load of suspected methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl pills was recovered during a traffic stop on northbound I-15 near the same exit in Washington City that had a combined estimated street value of more than $490,000.

In July, more than $2 million in illegal narcotics was reportedly recovered during a traffic stop on I-15 just north of the Utah-Arizona border that included two kilos of cocaine that was valued at more than $280,000.

In Cedar City, more than 2 kilos of suspected cocaine was recovered by UHP troopers during a traffic stop on northbound I-15 in July that was valued at roughly $280,000.

A traffic stop on I-15 in June netted more than $500,000 in narcotics that included a kilo of cocaine.

On July 27, Utah Highway Patrol troopers recovered more than 88 kilos of illegal narcotics during a traffic stop on northbound I-15 in Iron County. The narcotics were valued at more than $4.4 million, and suspected cocaine accounted for 7.5 pounds of the seizure.

Also in June, a traffic stop on I-15 by a UHP trooper resulted in the seizure of more than 7.5 pounds of suspected cocaine with a street value of more than $420,000.

Following the traffic stop Sunday, both suspects remain in custody without bail.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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