Handwritten license plate was the first clue — then trooper found drugs, Utah cops say
Troopers saw through a handwritten license plate last week.
After pulling over a 41-year-old driver on accusations of a fake license plate, tinted windows and following a semi-truck too closely, troopers said they also found pounds of drugs in the vehicle, KTVX reported.
The man was also without a license, Utah Highway Patrol said.
Troopers say Francisco Velasquez was driving northbound on Interstate 15 in Iron County when they saw the phony plate, KSL reported.
After multiple traffic violations, troopers said they pulled him over — and noticed signs of drug use, the outlet reported.
“I noted that his eyes were glassy, bloodshot, and red,” Trooper Scott Mackelprang wrote to the news outlet. “He had facial tremors and was sweating.”
Troopers said they found two bundles of a white substance in Velasquez’s car, KUTV reported. Officials later tested the substance and reportedly discovered it was meth. In all, authorities said they found seven pounds of the drug in the vehicle.
Documents obtained by KUTV state Velasquez was “being paid by a criminal organization to move across the country with a large amount of narcotics.” He doesn’t have any ties to Utah.
He is accused of later telling police he used the drugs, knew they were in his vehicle and was paid $2,000 to move them, KUTV reported.
Velasquez was booked into the Iron County Utah Jail and faces multiple drug and traffic violations. The judge ordered he remain in jail without bail, KSL reported.
This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Handwritten license plate was the first clue — then trooper found drugs, Utah cops say."
