A Seward County Sheriff’s Deputy made what is possibly the largest meth bust in Nebraska history on Thursday.
On April 25, 2024, a deputy with the Seward County Interdiction Task Force pulled over a car on I-80 west of Lincoln near the Milford exit for a traffic violation.
During the stop, Sheriff Mike Vance tells KLIN News, the deputy became suspicious of criminal activity because of the story given by the driver. The 44 year-old driver from California did not consent to a search of his vehicle. A K9 was brought in and picked up on the scent of narcotics in the SUV.
As a result, a probable cause search was conducted, and the deputy located a trash bag and three totes containing crystal methamphetamine with a total weight of 200 pounds. The approximate street value is over $7.2 million.
Vance says their department attempted to initiate a controlled delivery — in which authorities allow the package to continue to its intended destination under surveillance — but the driver had made a phone call to the package’s destination, rendering this tactic unfeasible.
Due to the sheer quantity of narcotics and the shipment’s destination, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was contacted immediately at the scene of the stop and responded from their Omaha division, elevating the case to federal authorities.
“Because of the geographic location where it was headed to, we knew the product was going to be distributed out and affect some of the communities within Nebraska,” said Vance.
Vance added “it’s very good to get those large quantities off the street,” and says his department is seeing an uptick in the transport of narcotics in large quantities.
“We’ve seen in years past, 20, 30, 40, 50 pounds, but the quantities are picking up because of the ease of accessibility into the United States now… and we’re seeing a lot more of the hard drugs. We’re not seeing a lot of marijuana being transported anymore like it used to be. It’s more of the hard narcotics,” said Vance.
Vance said their office confirmed the the package had traveled across the southern boarder. After checking around with other agencies, he believes this is the largest meth bust in Nebraska to-date.