Traffic Stop Leads To Major Drug Seizure

A traffic stop on I-40 in West Tennessee over the weekend resulted in a large amount of drugs being seized. Sunday evening, agents from the West Tennessee Drug Task Force from Memphis conducted a traffic stop in Haywood County Tennessee on a 2024 Toyota Tacoma with Florida plates, which was traveling eastbound on I-40. Agents became suspicious of possible drugs in the vehicle during the stop. A K-9 was brought in and found a substantial amount of fentanyl. The drugs ere concealed within bags of fertilizer and folded inside a tent placed within a tent bag. In total, agents seized 38.5 kilos or 85 pounds of fentanyl. Arrested were 42 year old Ernesto Ortiz and 25 year old Maria Munoz-Arevalo of Humble, Texas. Both are being held on a $ 5 million bond. Drug agents say the wholesale value of the seized fentanyl is approximately $1 million while the street value could be worth ten times that amount.