Massive meth bust in Colorado, more than $500,000 worth of the drug seized by the Weld County Sheriff’s Office and Colorado State Patrol

WELD COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) - Colorado State Patrol and the Weld County Sheriff’s Office worked together for a major drug bust in Colorado.

According to the Weld County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado State Patrol pulled a driver over on Aug. 30 at Weld County Roads 49 and 42. The area is about eight miles south of Kersey. The sheriff’s office was assisting in the traffic stop as K-9 Loki performed an open-air sniff outside of the vehicle.

Loki alerted deputies to the presence of drugs. Authorities searched the vehicle and found 88 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated value of $528,000.

Some of the drugs were packed in a suitcase found in the backseat of the pickup truck, but most of the drugs were hidden inside the truck’s spare tire.

Two suspects in the vehicle were identified as Arturo Mercado and Jesus Arturo Gonzalez.

The investigation into the truck was part of a broader bust. On Sept. 2, a drug task force executed five search warrants in Greeley, Evans and Garden City. Through those warrants, investigators seized about 5,000 fentanyl pills, 100 pounds of meth, a pound of cocaine, weapons and about $250,000 in cash. The Weld County Sheriff’s Office then executed a warrant in Evans and found two pounds of meth along with an illegal grow operation made up of more than 100 marijuana plants.

According to online jail records, Mercado is in the Weld County jail and faces multiple charges including drug distribution and child abuse. Gonzalez is facing the same charges.