UPD Makes Huge Meth Bust
Aug 17, 2016 11:39AM ● By Bryan ScottSalt Lake County, Utah - Unified Police Department (UPD) Taylorsville Street Crimes detectives were contacted by Homeland Security Investigators who had information that a vehicle carrying a large quantity of methamphetamine was travelling through Utah on its way to Canada. UPD detectives located that vehicle on I-15 northbound near the point of the mountain. A traffic stop was conducted on I-15 with the assistance of a Midvale Precinct patrol officer and UPD K9. The narcotics detection K9 alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.
A search of the vehicle revealed 68 lbs of methamphetamine in a large suitcase. The driver, Blake Arcand of Canada, was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on state charges. He will ultimately be charged federally with drug trafficking crimes. Mr. Arcand does have a history of smuggling narcotics into Canada from the U.S.
Also located in the suspect vehicle were several brand new backpacks and a note pad with several cities in Wyoming and Montana written on it. Investigators believe Mr. Arcand was going to deliver part of his load of methamphetamine to each of these cities, using the backpacks to hand off the drugs.
The seizure is the largest ever of methamphetamine in the state of Utah, to our knowledge. This is a great example of teamwork between federal and local law enforcement and a fantastic job by all UPD detectives and officers in locating the car and conducting a successful investigation and seizure. The street value of the meth seized is over $2 million. (There are photos available at the dropbox link below, please let me know if you don’t receive them).
LOCATION: 8500 S. I-15 Freeway, northbound
WHO: Suspect: Blake Arcant 56 year old white male
WHEN: 5:00pm August 16, 2016
CONTACT: Lieutenant Lex Bell 801-831-6603
