Provo man arrested in connection with 70-pound pot bust

PROVO — Detectives serving a search warrant for a possible marijuana bust hit the jackpot when a suspect's associates showed up to the apartment complex with about 70 pounds of marijuana.

The incident began around 6 a.m. Tuesday, when detectives noticed a vehicle arrive outside the Georgian Apartments at 80 S. 900 East in Provo. Investigators with the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force were there to serve a search warrant.

According to jail records, the occupants in the vehicle seemed nervous about the police presence and left the parking lot at a high rate of speed.

Provo police stopped the vehicle nearby, and about 70 pounds of marijuana was found in the vehicle. Jail records state the occupants of the vehicle are associates of Jose Carlos Castro-Reyes, the suspect for whose apartment detectives had a search warrant.

Detectives searched Castro-Reyes' apartment and located a safe with eight pounds of marijuana inside, according to jail records.

The 30-year-old man has a prior conviction of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Castro-Reyes, who police say is a gang member, was booked into Utah County Jail for investigation of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia.

— Lana Groves