EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A man from Arkansas has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after being caught with 40 pounds of meth in the metro east, according to a release.

Officers stopped Christopher Palmer, 40, on the Illinois State Route 143 exit ramp from Interstate 70 in May 2022. Palmer, who was driving a rental car, was asked to step out of the vehicle. Once he did, he attempted to get back in the car and move the gearshift to flee the scene.

Palmer was then detained, and a canine indicated the presence of drugs, giving the police a probable cause search warrant.

Police then located a duffel bag in the trunk of the rental vehicle, containing 40 bags of crystal meth. Each bag weighed around one pound.

“The scourge of illicit drugs entering our communities, to include methamphetamine, is alarming and tragic,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge Joseph Dixon, head of DEA enforcement operations in southern Illinois, said in a release. “This individual’s reckless actions and reliance on weapons to support his drug activities was equally damaging to our citizens. This violence deprived communities of a fundamental sense of security in their own homes and neighborhoods. DEA is committed to ensuring the most violent drug offenders are removed from our streets.”

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In the center console, officers also discovered a Glock 43 semi-automatic pistol. Palmer, who is a prior convicted felon, cannot legally possess a firearm.

Palmer pleaded guilty in June 2023 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute meth, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of felon in possession of a firearm.

He was sentenced to 300 months for the first count, with a 60-month mandatory consecutive sentence for the second count and a 120-month sentence to run concurrent with the first count.

“As a repeat criminal offender, the defendant chose to transport drugs in bulk for distribution and unlawfully possess a firearm, knowing the consequences,” U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe said in a release. “I appreciate our partnership with the DEA to apprehend offenders guilty of violent and drug-related crimes.”

As Palmer qualified as a career offender for prior drug trafficking convictions, he may be eligible for longer terms of imprisonment.

Following his sentence, Palmer will additionally be under five years of supervised release.

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