Federal drug agents say the seizure of illegal drugs in Nebraska surged last year and they warn that methamphetamine and the powerful painkiller fentanyl remain dangerous threats in the state.
The Omaha field division of the DEA says authorities in Nebraska seized 191 kilograms or about 421 pounds of meth last year – a jump of 68% from 2019.
DEA seized 2,106 kilos or 4,644 pounds – better than 2 tons – of marijuana, 8 times the amount seized the year prior, and 2.5- kilograms or more than 5.5 pounds of fentanyl and 1,000 fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills.
In a related story, Nebraska State Patrol troopers arrested a California man and seized more than 25 pounds of methamphetamine and 3 pounds of fentanyl pills during a traffic stop on Interstate 80 early Friday evening in south-central Nebraska.
The trooper stopped the luxury car after it ran a stop sign on the I-80 off-ramp at the Overton interchange. The trooper became suspicious and a search of the vehicle revealed 26 packages inside a duffel bag in the trunk.
25 of the packages contained 26 pounds of meth while the other had .3 pounds of pills suspected to contain fentanyl.
35-year old Octavio Padilla-Garcia of Los Angeles, was arrested for possession of meth, possession of meth with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and no drug tax stamp.