Sheriff K-9 unit finds 70 pounds of meth worth $1.2M in Ford County traffic stop

A western Kansas sheriff’s K-9 unit made a drug bust involving over $1 million worth of methamphetamine in a Tuesday night traffic stop.

The Ford County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that a K-9 unit deputy pulled over a vehicle that was eastbound on U.S. 54 east of Bucklin at around 9:35 p.m. The deputy smelled the odor of raw marijuana while talking with the vehicle’s occupants.

During a search, the deputy found 80 packages of suspected crystal meth wrapped in cellophane and hidden strategically throughout the vehicle, the sheriff’s office said. About 1 ounce of suspected marijuana was found during the search.

The sheriff’s office estimated the value of the approximately 70 pounds of meth to be over $1.2 million.

The driver and a passenger were arrested on suspicion of possession of meth with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The sheriff’s office identified them as Nelson Alvarez-Castillo, 30, and Anthony Yapul, 24, both of Philadelphia. They were booked into the Ford County jail.

This story was originally published June 27, 2019 at 7:35 PM.