Cocaine seized in I-15 traffic stop

CEDAR CITY — The Utah Highway Patrol seized nine kilograms of cocaine during a traffic stop on I-15 Thursday.

It started when UHP Sgt. Ryan Bauer pulled over a silver minivan that was allegedly speeding near milepost 49.

As soon as the driver rolled down the window, Bauer smelled marijuana, he wrote in a report about the incident.

The 18-year-old man and 37-year-old woman inside the vehicle admitted to having smoked the illegal substance recently, Bauer said. They then consented to a search of the van.

Bauer and trooper Cole Douglas, with the help of a police dog named Neo, located the drugs tucked into a rear panel.

The cocaine was hidden behind moldy french fries in what the Highway Patrol believes was an attempt to throw off the dogs.

The two passengers denied knowledge of the drugs but both were arrested, according to Bauer.

— Rebecca Palmer