Police: K-9 helps locate 38 pounds of meth hidden in car on I-15 near Cedar City

"Snitch," a K-9 officer with Cedar City Police Department, poses in front of a seized vehicle with bags of methamphetamine that were found in a hidden compartment, leading to the arrest of two men by Utah Highway Patrol, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 21, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Cedar City Police, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Two suspected drug traffickers were arrested in Iron County on Tuesday.

Closeup of Utah Highway Patrol patrol vehicle, Cedar City, Utah, May 14, 2022 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Carlos Gonzalez Sarmiento, 24, and Jose Benitez Camargo, 22, were stopped by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper on northbound Interstate 15 after the trooper noticed the window tint on the front driver’s side window of their vehicle appeared to be considerably darker than what is legal in Utah.

After pulling over the maroon Chevrolet Malibu a few miles north of Cedar City near mile marker 70, the trooper ran a records check on Sarmiento, the driver, and found that his Indiana-issued driver’s license had been suspended. 

Suspicious of further criminal activity, the trooper then summoned the assistance of a K-9 officer, who arrived on scene a short time later along with his handler, a Cedar City Police officer. 

“After the sniff, (the officer) informed me that his K-9 indicated to the odor of narcotics coming from the vehicle,” the arresting trooper wrote in the probable cause statements filed in support of the duo’s arrests.

During the ensuing search of the vehicle, officers reportedly found approximately 38 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in two hidden compartments that had been built inside the rocker panels of the car, according to the charging documents.

“Snitch,” a K-9 officer with Cedar City Police Department, poses in front of a seized vehicle with bags of methamphetamine that were found in a hidden compartment, leading to the arrest of two men by Utah Highway Patrol, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 21, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Cedar City Police, St. George News / Cedar City News

“The passenger admitted that he knew he was transporting something but he did not know what,” the arresting trooper wrote in the affidavit, adding that an agent with the State Bureau of Investigations assisted with interviewing both suspects. 

“(The passenger) claimed he thought he was transporting marijuana in the compartments,” the statement adds.

Both men, who are reportedly from Indianapolis, Indiana, are being held without bail in Iron County Jail as they await their respective initial court appearances.

Each man faces one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, a second-degree felony; one count of altering a vehicle compartment to conceal contraband, a class A misdemeanor; and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor. 

Additionally, Sarmiento faces one count of driving on a suspended or revoked license, a class C misdemeanor, in addition to the window tint violation, an infraction.

This report is based on information provided by law enforcement officers and court documents 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, 2023, all rights reserved.

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