Washington City police say a routine traffic stop in the middle of the night turned into a massive drug bust after officers found about 100 pounds of suspected crystal meth stashed in cardboard boxes in a car trunk.
The driver, identified in police paperwork as 50-year-old Reyes Rojo Burgos, was pulled over early Friday and arrested at the scene. He was booked into the Purgatory Correctional Facility, where he remains in custody. According to police, Burgos told officers he owed a debt in Mexico and had agreed to move the load for a promised $5,000 payout.
As reported by KJZZ, the stop happened just before 2 a.m. after an officer cited Burgos for rolling through a stop sign instead of coming to a complete halt. A Washington County Sheriff's Office detective asked for permission to search the vehicle, and Burgos agreed.
When officers opened the trunk, they found several large cardboard boxes wrapped in plastic. Inside, according to police, were roughly 100 gallon-sized bags filled with a white, crystal-like substance that appeared to be methamphetamine. Homeland Security Investigations responded to the scene along with multiple local agencies, including Hurricane City, Santa Clara–Ivins and St. George police. When officers asked Burgos what was in the boxes, he reportedly replied, "Sorry," before being arrested and taken to Purgatory.
Big hauls are not new in Washington County
The early-morning stop is just the latest in a run of heavy-duty drug seizures on highways cutting through southern Utah. Earlier this month, a separate traffic stop covered by KUTV turned up more than 110 pounds of meth in a car trunk. In 2021, a stop near St. George led deputies to more than 80 pounds of meth, according to a KSL report.
Those cases, along with the new arrest, highlight how a simple traffic infraction can suddenly escalate into a major narcotics investigation when officers start asking questions and drivers start getting nervous.
Charges and next steps
Burgos was arrested on suspicion of second-degree felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and remains behind bars, according to KJZZ. Local investigators are now working to untangle who arranged the shipment and whether the case will jump to the federal level, given Homeland Security's involvement.
Court filings, along with any potential federal referrals, are expected to be the next public turning points in the case as prosecutors sort out how to charge what police say was a six-figure drug haul moved for a four-figure fee.
Law enforcement agencies have long flagged Interstate 15 as a key drug pipeline linking California and Las Vegas with destinations farther east. Routine patrol stops remain one of the main ways Washington County officers disrupt those shipments, as KSL has previously reported.
Authorities have not released any information about possible co-conspirators or the intended destination of the 100-pound load.
