Two men were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to distribute after 10 pounds of heroin were found in a car by the Utah County Police Department on Sunday morning at mile marker 279 on I-15 near the Main Street; American Fork exit.  The drugs have an estimated street value of at least $400,000, and is the largest heroin shipment found by police in Utah County in the last five years.

The driver, Marco Ruiz, was pulled over initially for speeding and making unsafe lane changes. “The deputy said he smelled marijuana in the car and that’s when he called for the UHP K9 unit,” said Lt. Yvette Rice, the Utah County Sheriff Office’s public information officer. Ruiz said that he was unaware of what was in the trunk but “assumed it was something bad”.

Ruiz claims to have driven the car to Los Angeles the day before, left the car for a few hours, and drove it back to Utah. He says it was the second round trip to L.A. he has made in the last month.

Angel Martinez, the passenger of the vehicle, is also facing an additional charge of carrying an unregistered firearm after he was found with a gun tucked into his waistband during the time of the arrest.  

Rice said, “The Utah County Sheriff’s Office is looking for anyone who might have seen the suspects when they stopped at the Chevron gas station in Nephi, Utah earlier Sunday morning, as it is possible that they had made a drop off at that location.”

“We are glad to see a shipment of this size stopped before it hits the street. Utah’s opioid epidemic is real, and any time we can take this much heroin out of circulation we consider that a win for the good guys,” said Utah County Sheriff James Tracy.