POLICE DOG SNIFFS OUT BIG STASH OF MARIJUANA

Drug Bust May Be County's Largest Single Seizure

OREM - An estimated $352,000 in marijuana snatched during a late-night drug
bust Tuesday is believed to be Utah County's largest single seizure of the
leafy narcotic. Armed with a search warrant, members of the Utah County
Major Crimes Task Force, made up of specialists from most Mountainland law
enforcement agencies, raided the Orem home of a reputed drug dealer at
about midnight Tuesday. Searches at the home yielded only a small quantity
of drugs and paraphernalia. But information received from informants and
undercover officers during the search of the home allowed police to justify
another search warrant for a nearby storage unit, 1060 S. State, where the
bulk of the drugs were hoarded, said Orem Police Lt. Steve Clark. A dog
trained to sniff out illicit drugs immediately pinpointed the storage unit
where 63 pounds of marijuana were found bundled in plastic wrap and axle
grease. Police also found 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine and one ounce of
cocaine. "The dog hit right on it and very aggressively," Clark said.
Police seized three vehicles and a motorcycle as well as the narcotics.

The seized drugs, packaged in 6-inch bales, covered two large banquet
tables as Orem police displayed them Wednesday morning at a news
conference. "I think we'll see the price of marijuana around here climb,"
Clark said. "We've taken a large supply away." Two male Mexican nationals
who had been deported in 1996 for prior drug offenses were taken into
custody Wednesday. Both were booked into the Utah County Jail. The men
likely will be deported by officials from Immigration and Naturalization
Service. Both men were arrested on suspicion of aggravated re-entry into
the United States and possession with intent to distribute marijuana,
methamphetamine and cocaine in a drug-free zone. Undercover officers have
been working on this bust for nearly three weeks, Clark said. "This is by
far the largest quantity of drugs we've ever seized," he said. In the past
year, the task force has recovered an estimated 10 pounds of
methamphetamines. "Ten pounds may not sound like a lot, but it's a lot to a
doper or to a cop," Clark said. The task force was created in July 1997
when the former Narcotic Enforcement Team and the Utah County Gang Project
merged.

A federal grant helps support the anti-drug and gang organization.

Checked-by: Richard Lake