30 lbs of meth hidden in fire extinguishers seized near Las Vegas

Daniel Neill, assistant special agent in charge of the DEA’s Las Vegas office, said a joint law enforcement investigation into a “local criminal street gang here which traffics in drugs” led to the bust Monday.

“A source-of-supply suspect was traveling to the Los Angeles area to pick up 25 pounds of methamphetamine,” the DEA said in a statement. “On February 3rd, law enforcement was able to establish surveillance on the suspect and stopped the vehicle he was driving in on the Interstate 15 freeway on his way back from the LA area.”

Neill said during a phone interview that the traffic stop unfolded near Sloan.

When law enforcement officials inspected the vehicle, “there were 10 fire extinguishers in the trunk,” he said. “We tested the fire extinguishers, and they didn’t work.”

Further inspection of the devices turned up the meth.

“You could actually open up one of the tops and you could tell there was stuff inside, but to get it out we had to cut them open,” Neill said.

The DEA said the two occupants of the vehicle were taken into custody and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. The names of the suspects were not immediately released.

The investigation was the result of cooperation between the DEA and the Clark County Gang Task Force, which includes Las Vegas and North Las Vegas police.

Neill said Las Vegas Valley law enforcement has witnessed a sharp increase in meth trafficking. In years past investigators might see a couple hundred pounds of the drug seized over a year’s time, he said, but recently officers confiscated roughly that amount in separate busts in a single month.

“I just think there is more and more production of methamphetamine being done south of the border in Mexico,” Neill said “There is a flood of meth, and the price is actually dropping.”

Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.