1,113 pounds of marijuana seized in fake delivery van

The Arizona Department of Transportation seized 1,113 pounds of marijuana Wednesday evening from a fake delivery van spotted on Interstate 15 in far northwestern Arizona.

ADOT said the van had authentic-looking markings of a commercial package-delivery service but an officer with ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division noticed that the vehicle had an out-of-state license plate on the front.

ADOT said a check of records later showed the vehicle was registered to an individual in North Carolina.

ADOT said an officer alerted other ADOT officers, one of whom caught up with the van and noted several traffic violations as it traveled on I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge. Another ADOT officer then stopped the van and noted inconsistencies in the driver’s story as the two other ADOT officers arrived.

During further investigation, a K-9 unit handled by one of the ADOT officers detected illegal substances.

Officers then found large bags containing 1,113 pounds of marijuana, as well as 5 grams of a mushroom-based hallucinogenic, three vials of illegal steroids and $7,850.

ADOT said the driver, a 48-year-old man, was booked into the Mesquite Detention Center in Nevada and is pending transfer to the Mohave County Jail in Kingman.

The van was taken to ADOT’s commercial port of entry in St. George, Utah.