ISP lands $60,000 drug bust

An Idaho state trooper said nervousness tipped him off during a routine traffic stop at milepost 117 on I-15 near Idaho Falls, which ended with drugs and guns being found in a vehicle.

District 6 of the Idaho State Police said just before 10 a.m. Thursday, Vance Cox pulled over Kimberly Rose and Uriel Ortega, both of Twin Falls, for a traffic violation. He said he could tell that there was something wrong when the suspect couldn’t answer routine questions.

“Usually when we inquire about somebody for their name and date of birth, it just comes out crystal clear and computes with the age,” said Cox. “In this case I asked him what his name and date of birth was and he stumbled a little bit as he provided that to me and the date of birth didn’t match up with his age.”

During the stop, State Trooper Ken Peeples and drug dog Apollo were brought in to search the vehicle. They found 3.3 pounds of methamphetamine, a small amount of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and three guns, two of which were loaded.

“Too many times drugs and violent acts go hand and hand. It’s all one vicious cycle when you look at the drug world,” said Cox. “It’s a poison, and any time we can get any amount off the street, we’re glad to do that.”

Rose and Ortega were arrested on felony drug trafficking charges and taken to the Bonneville County Jail.

ISP said this could have been a major operation. One pound of meth is valued between $18,000 and $20,000, resulting in a $60,000 find for the department.