Improper lane change leads to discovery of 157 pounds of marijuana in Utah

TOOELE, Utah — It was another large drug bust for the Utah Highway Patrol.

On Tuesday, a trooper reported pulling over a vehicle on I-80 in Tooele County for making an improper lane change.

“During the traffic stop I became suspicious the driver was involved with further criminal activity. I deployed my police service dog to conduct a free air sniff of the exterior of the vehicle, a positive indication to the presence of narcotics was observed,” the trooper wrote in a police booking affidavit.

A further search of the vehicle revealed eight black duffle bags in the bed of the truck. Inside the bags, investigators found 154 pounds of marijuana, 6 pounds of THC wax, $25,000 in cash and a gun, the affidavit states.

Nathanael P. Drumond, 41, of Rome, New York, was arrested and charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with money laundering and drug possession with intent to distribute, second-degree felonies; possession of a firearm by a retracted person, a third-degree felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to deliver, a class A misdemeanor.

The charges come less than a week after an Oregon woman was charged in 3rd District Court with having 227 pounds of marijuana in her vehicle.

That incident was the latest in a streak of finding more than 100 pounds of marijuana being transported in vehicles through the state in recent months.