Search warrant produces 11 guns and marijuana

Investigators from the Utah State Tax Commission's Division of Motor Vehicle Enforcement have been trying for three months to nail down proof that two men were selling cars without a license, a class A misdemeanor.

But when investigators served a search warrant to one of the men, they found 11 guns and a pound of marijuana. One bust later and the motor vehicle enforcement officers had seized another 12 1/2 pounds of pot — packaged in one-gallon freezer bags. The street value of the marijuana is estimated between $6,500 and $19,500.

The guns, mostly rifles, were placed on a table with the confiscated drugs during a press conference at the Utah State Tax Commission's offices Tuesday afternoon. "This all started with people selling cars without a license," said Kip Ingersoll, the division's assistant director.

The two men used a newspaper's classified advertisements to sell the cars.

Ingersoll said state law allows an unlicensed person to sell no more than two cars a year. The men officers arrested have allegedly sold at least seven vehicles this year, he said.

One of the search warrants was served in Murray and led to the serving of another in South Salt Lake. In South Salt Lake, officers found parts left over from a BMW that had been stolen and almost completely stripped of its parts.

One of the men may face firearms charges. He is a restricted person and isn't permitted to have firearms in his possession.

The division investigates auto theft and other vehicle-related crimes, as well as fraud related to motor-vehicle commerce.