Two Detroit residents are facing serious drug allegations after a multijurisdictional narcotics investigation led troopers and local officers to a vehicle and a motel room in Three Rivers last Friday. Inside, investigators say they uncovered sizable stashes of suspected crystal meth, crack cocaine and other controlled substances, part of a broader crackdown by the Michigan State Police’s Southwest Enforcement Team in the region.
According to MLive, investigators seized about 733 grams of suspected crystal methamphetamine from the vehicle and roughly 48 grams of suspected crack cocaine from a motel room linked to one of the suspects. They also reported finding about 20 grams of diphenidine and what the agency described as “user amounts” of MDMA, cocaine and fentanyl. A 33-year-old Detroit man and a 42-year-old Detroit woman were arrested and lodged at the St. Joseph County Jail on felony possession and trafficking allegations.
State police have been blunt about why these kinds of cases are getting extra attention. MSP wrote, “Every year in southwest Michigan, more lives are lost to fatal drug overdoses than to fatal car crashes and homicides combined,” a statement the agency shared on X and that was reproduced by MLive. The Southwest Enforcement Team said it worked the case with the Three Rivers Police Department and the Saint Joseph County Sheriff’s Office, and investigators may seek charges against two additional suspects tied to the probe.
Seizures fit a pattern in the region
SWET has been busy across St. Joseph County in recent months, teaming up with local departments on large seizures and arrests. A previous Three Rivers operation last summer ended with hundreds of grams of meth and crack taken off the street at a Super 8 hotel, underscoring the scale of narcotics activity the team is targeting, according to ABC57.
What comes next
The two Detroit residents remain in custody while prosecutors review the case. If formal charges are filed, they could be looking at significant prison time under Michigan’s trafficking laws. Authorities asked anyone with information related to the investigation to contact the Michigan State Police tip line at [email protected] or call 269-982-8664.
