Record Oregon Drug Bust Nets Suspects from Royal City, Moses Lake
It's one of the most "significant" drug busts in Oregon state history, says the State Patrol.
Details are just now being released, but on February 23rd Oregon State Troopers conducted a traffic stop that resulted in what officials are saying is probably the most "significant" drug bust in state history.
Around 1:30pm, troopers stopped a 2008 Dodge Caravan with Washington plates on Highway 97 just south of Biggs Junction, OR.
The vehicle was pulled over for a traffic violation, and less than a minute into the stop, one of the occupants opened the passenger's side glove box to retrieve registration and papers. A sharp-eyed trooper spotted a gun inside the compartment, which led to probable cause to search the vehicle.
What troopers found inside was stunning: 44 POUNDS of methamphetamine, and 25 POUNDS of cocaine!
The two men in the vehicle, 32-year-old Alberto Alejandro Martinez of Moses Lake, and 31-year-old Jose Joel Helguero Del Rio of Royal City, were both arrested and are facing multiple drug and weapons charges. U.S. Marshall's officials, along with others from the D.E.A. and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are assisting in the ongoing investigation.
According to the Oregon State Patrol:
"This is one of the more significant recent seizures of illegal drugs in transport by the Oregon State Police. The estimated street values of the drugs are over 2.3 million dollars. It is believed that seizures such as this have the capability to make an immediate impact in the safety of numerous communities throughout the northwest."
The two suspects are pictured here.