$2M Crystal Meth Bust Made During I-40 Stop: Iredell Sheriff

MOORESVILLE, NC —A stop for a traffic violation on Interstate 40 Monday led to a massive drug bust that ended up taking nearly $2 million worth of crystal methamphetamine off the streets, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.

Deputies with the Interstate Criminal Enforcement team pulled a black Nissan pickup truck over during the April 9 traffic stop along the interstate, west of Statesville, around mile marker 144, according to Sheriff Darren Campbell.

“When you have drug seizures like this, we are saving lives and protecting our children and communities, “ Campbell said in a statement, adding that his office has seized 51 pounds of the drug worth more than $9 million in Iredell County since November.

As deputies interviewed Byron David Aguirre from Pasadena, Texas alongside the interstate, a drug dog was dispatched to perform a “free air sniff” of the inside of the truck.

“A positive indication was given by the canine and a search was conducted,” the Sheriff’s office said in a statement.

During the search, deputies found nearly 5,000 grams of crystal methamphetamine hidden inside the truck, which they estimate to have a street value of nearly $2 million.

Aguirre was arrested and transported to the Iredell County Detention Center. He has been charged with one count of felony trafficking methamphetamine by transport and one count of felony trafficking methamphetamine by possession.

His bond was set at $1 million, the Sheriff’s office said.

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Photos courtesy of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office