UHP checkpoint nets 97 pounds of pot

Utah Highway Patrol troopers found almost 100 pounds of marijuana in five duffel bags at a checkpoint they set up Friday in Grand County.

At an "administrative checkpoint" set up for the day on I-70 eastbound to patrol for impaired drivers and those with expired or restricted drivers licenses, troopers stopped a Dodge pickup truck coming from California.

The UHP had "several indicators" that there was something suspicious about the vehicle, including a UHP K-9 directing them to a "hit" near the bed of the truck. The UHP reported that they searched a camper and found five duffel bags that were "all full of high-grade marijuana."

Those five bags contained a total of 97 pounds of the illegal substance. The 29-year-old driver of the truck was arrested before being charged with "possession and distribution charges." He was booked into Grand County Jail.