Four individuals arrested in fentanyl bust in Kanab
Dec 9, 2023, 4:22 PM | Updated: 7:24 pm
FILE — police lights
KANAB — The Kane County Sheriff’s Office took four people into custody Friday following a traffic stop that resulted in the discovery of several packages of fentanyl pills, weighing more than 20 pounds.
A deputy with the Kane County Sheriff’s Office observed a black Ford Fusion traveling westbound on Highway 89. The deputy asked dispatch to run a license plate check on the vehicle. The check came back saying there was a warrant out associated with the vehicle.
According to the probable cause statement, the vehicle showed to 40 mph in a 65 mph zone. It then signaled to turn right onto 700 E. Fairway Drive. At the point, the deputy conducted a traffic stop, with the vehicle coming to a stop in the parking lot of a convenience store.
According to the probable cause statement, the deputy states that there were two male individuals in the front of the vehicle and a male and female in the back seat with a car seat holding a young child.
During the stop, the deputy learned that none of the individuals had a driver’s license. And only one person, Tomas Ibarra, spoke English. Ibarra was the subject of the warrant, associated with the vehicle. The deputy was handed passports or identification from Mexico, according to the probable cause statement.
A short time later, an officer from the Kanab City Police Department responded to help translate Spanish.
The driver of the vehicle, Alexis Archuletta Rivas, told authorities that they had been on a trip to Arizona to see the female’s family.
Search of the vehicle
A short time later, a Ibarra gave police permission to search the vehicle with a police K-9. During the search of the vehicle, authorities found a black backpack in the truck. In side the bag, authorities found seven packages of “blue pills”, authorities believed to be fentanyl.
Additionally, a black machete knife was found between the driver’s seat and the middle console. Two more packages of fentanyl were discovered in the glove box.
Authorities also seized $2,000 in cash, and the vehicle was impounded.
In an interview with Homeland Security Agents, Ibarra and Rivas admitted to possessing fentanyl pills and told the agents where they were dropping the pills off at, according to the probable cause statement.
The nine bags of fentanyl pills weighed 22.4 pounds, according to the probable cause statement. It also states that there were roughly more than 100,000 pills.
Authorities have asked that all four individuals be held without bail.
According to the probable cause statement, Rivas was booked for investigation of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, endangerment of a child and Category 1 restricted person.
