BENJAMIN, Utah — Two people were arrested and a 2-year-old girl is in the custody of a relative after deputies discovered 9.7 pounds of methamphetamine during a traffic stop in Utah County Wednesday night.
According to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy stopped a car for traveling 100 mph on northbound I-15 near Benjamin, Utah on Wednesday night.
A K-9 officer was called to the scene and gave a positive indication for narcotics in the car, a news release from the Sheriff’s Office said.
The drugs have an estimated street value of $440,000 and, if they had been divided for sale, could have provided as many as 35,000 individual doses, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Melisa Marquez-Barrios, 22, and Oscar Cortez-Felix, 20 – both of Ogden – each face a felony charge of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute in a drug-free zone and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia in a drug-free zone.
“In this case the drug distribution and paraphernalia charges were enhanced to drug free zone because Marquez-Barrios had her 2 year old daughter in the car with her,” the news release said.
Cortez-Felix has been placed under an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold because he’s believed to be in the United States illegally, the news release said.
The bail amount for Marquez-Barrios and Cortez-Felix was set at $50,000 – cash only – each.
