UHP officers nab seven separate carriers and more than 200 pounds of marijuana on I-80

Over 200 pounds of marijuana was seized from seven separate vehicles traveling along I-80 through Tooele County over the weekend by Utah Highway Patrol officers. That there was no connection between any of the busts simply illustrates just how prevalent drug smuggling has become along the corridor, according to UHP officials.

“All of the busts occurred in the eastbound lanes,” said Sgt. Steve Salas, head of the UHP drug interdiction team assigned to canvass the interstate last weekend. “We think they are coming from California. There are probably over 25 counties and cities that have legalized marijuana in California, so laws are very flexible. A lot of people are able to grow their own without any law enforcement pressure, and they can profit $3,000 to $5,000 a pound.”

The saturation blitz was executed between 6 p.m. Thursday and noon on Sunday by the roving team of eight troopers, six K-9 counterparts and on-duty Tooele County UHP troopers.

“This past weekend troopers stopped over 100 vehicles for various traffic violations,” said Lt. Troy Marx, head of UHP’s Tooele office, adding that if there was any indicator of possible criminal activity, drug dogs were deployed to sniff around the exterior of the vehicle and either clear it for continued travel or signal for a more intensive search.

Those 100 traffic stops yielded the recovery of one stolen vehicle, six arrests on outstanding warrants, and a whopping eight “pipeline” arrests — i.e, arrests for drug possession with intent to distribute, Marx said.

“Two hundred pounds of marijuana is a large amount, but we’ve had blitzes that have netted up over 300 before,” Salas said. “Then we’ve had times that we’ve come out and only seen five to 10 pounds. I think the number of days and the number of trained officers we had factored into the [relatively high] number of busts we made this time.”

Additionally, Salas said fall and early winter generally yield more smugglers traveling across county lines because the months directly follow the marijuana harvest season and allow time for the drug to dry and be packaged for sale.

“Sometimes you just never know what you are going to find,” Salas said.

Most marijuana stashes are packaged in vacuum-sealed bags and then transported in luggage or duffle bags, although in one weekend bust the drug was found wrapped in Christmas presents, according to Salas. In six of the seven busts, the smugglers were traveling alone.

“They are pulled over for anything from speed, failing to signal, following too close, equipment violations,” Salas said.

Amy Lynn Clark, 51, of Salem, N.H., was nailed with the largest amount of marijuana, according to Salas. A trooper found roughly 90 pounds after receiving consent to search her vehicle on Friday. Alain Lahoud, 38, and Keri Beth Singrin, 33, both of Colfax, Calif., were found in the possession of 25 pounds of marijuana, which they had wrapped neatly in wrapping paper. Then came 30-year-old Lucas Hinde, of Phoenix, Ariz., who led troopers on a 14-mile high-speed chase after a drug dog detected marijuana in his vehicle.

Hinde was initially pulled over near milepost 89 when the Nissan Altima he was driving was seen suspiciously trying to avoid detection by traveling directly next to a semi truck as it passed a parked UHP squad car. Hinde slowed down to below the speed limit to maintain his position beside the semi, according to a probable cause statement.

The trooper initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle, obtaining Hinde’s information and returning to his squad car to do a records check. However, while the trooper was in his car, Hinde sped away, weaving through light traffic and reaching speeds of 135 mph before taking the SR-202 exit, at which point the trooper lost sight of Hinde’s vehicle and aborted the chase.

A search of a nearby Kennecott parking lot, however, revealed Hinde’s vehicle. A small amount of marijuana was found inside the vehicle, but the trooper later found that Hinde had deposited two suitcases with a total of 16 pounds of high-grade marijuana into the bed of a nearby truck in the same parking lot, according to Salas.

The four other arrests — 75-year-old Charles Mitchel, of Pennsylvania, 31-year-old Jason Casey, of Colorado Springs, Colo., 54-year-old Laurie Blecich, of Granby, Colo., and 55-year-old Jeffrey Clark, of Bodfish, Calif. — had smaller amounts of marijuana present in their vehicles, ranging from two to 10 pounds.

All eight suspects were booked into the Tooele County Jail on drug possession and distribution charges.

Salas said the legalization of marijuana use for medicinal purposes in California, and more recently in some areas of Colorado, has changed the source of the drug from Mexico to the western United States.

“Since about 2004 or 2005, we’ve seen a lot of high-grade marijuana coming from northern California,” Salas said. “You can tell because it’s packaged differently than the stuff that is coming out of the south. Over 50 percent of the large quantities we see are going to Colorado this year. There’s a higher market for it there now that it has been legalized in the city of Denver several years ago. A lot of neighboring cities and counties are going with legalization as well.”

Jamie Belnap: jamieb@tooeletranscript.com