I-5 drug bust nets 120 pounds of meth, cocaine and fentanyl pills, Centralia police say
Centralia police say they seized over a 100 pounds of illegal drugs Wednesday during a traffic stop on Interstate 5 near Mellen Street.
A Centralia police officer initiated the stop at about 12:47 p.m. on the northbound side of the highway, according to a news release. Detectives with the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, which includes Centralia and Chehalis police, then arrived to assist.
Commander Andy Caldwell told The Olympian Centralia police stopped the vehicle based on information shared by law enforcement partners. He said a K9 narcotics dog alerted police to the presence of the drugs.
Inside the vehicle, law enforcement reports uncovering 100 pounds of suspected methamphetamine, 19.8 pounds of suspected fentanyl mixed with cocaine powder, and about 340,000 suspected fentanyl pills.
The amount of drugs seized could have large implications for the wider region, Caldwell said.
“It’s not all destined for one location,” Caldwell said. “The amount of fentanyl that we seized gets broken up and distributed, affecting our communities all over the state. So the impact of (seizing) 340,000 pills, that saves lives all over the area.”
Police arrested the driver of the vehicle, a 26-year-old man from Mexico, on suspicion of possession of narcotics with the intent to deliver, according to the release. He was booked into Lewis County Jail that afternoon.
Caldwell said the man cooperated with police during the traffic stop and there are no other suspects related to this case.
