Members of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Interdiction Unit seized over $2 million dollars in methamphetamines during a traffic stop Sunday morning.
LSO Chief Deputy Ben Houchin described the “awesome traffic stop” occurred around 11 a.m. near the I-80/I-180 split in north Lincoln. Officers stopped a Toyota Camry with Washington plates for failure to signal and following too close, driven by 42-year-old Nadia Castro of California.
Houchin said Castro gave unit members consent to search the vehicle. In the trunk, they found a grocery bag covered in what’s believed to be axle grease with “a whole bunch” of methamphetamines, determined by pre-testing. Also in the trunk were two spare tires, which officers said were unusually heavy.
“They ended up finding 16 pounds of meth in one tire and 22 pounds in the other tire for a grand total of 48 pounds of methamphetamines,” Houchin said.
Investigators believe Castro was travelling to Omaha, and Houchin speculated some of that meth may have “come back to Lincoln.” The drugs have an estimated street value of over $2 million.
“Our criminal interdiction unit are out here saving lives and taking some bad drugs off the street,” Houchin said.
Photo: Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office