43 pounds of meth, worth nearly $2 million, seized in Arizona traffic stop

Sheriff’s detectives seized nearly $2 million in methamphetamine during a traffic stop in the Arizona desert, officials said Monday.

Israel Tellez-Nava, 35, of Las Vegas, was pulled over Thursday night on Interstate 40 near the DW Ranch Road exit in Kingman, Arizona, Mohave County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Anita Mortensen said.

Tellez-Nava was the driver and only person in the car where “bundles of methamphetamine” were “in plain view during the traffic stop,” according to a sheriff’s statement.

Deputies said they seized 43 pounds of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $1.9 million dollars, from the car.

“This was a ridiculously significant” arrest and narcotics seizure, Mortesen told NBC News. “I-40 is highly used to traffic illegal drugs.”

Tellez-Nava was in jail on Monday, held in lieu of $250,000 bail, officials said. He’s been charged with transportation of dangerous drugs for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, and possession of dangerous drugs for sale.

It wasn’t clear if Tellez-Nava had hired an attorney by Monday.

source: nbcnews.com