A car that did not signal as it changed lanes on I-15 near St. George led Washington County sheriff's deputies to a 26-pound stash of marijuana.
About 2 a.m. Tuesday, a sheriff's deputy pulled over a car for failure to signal. Inside was a man and a woman from California.
"The deputy noticed what appeared to be marijuana flakes — pieces of leaves — on his shirt," said Washington County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Rob Tersigni. "He could also smell the strong smell of marijuana."
A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded two bags filled with what appeared to be marijuana, Tersigni said.
"He discovered two suitcases full of clear plastic bags of marijuana," he said. "They were one pound each."
Tersigni said the bags had dryer sheets inside them in an attempt to mask the smell of the marijuana. Deputies estimate the street value of the 26 pounds of marijuana to be about $62,400.
Deputies also seized a small amount of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and about $2,690 in cash from inside the car. Deputies said the suspects have refused to say where they were coming from or where they may have been going with the marijuana.
"We try to stop people for smaller things and look for bigger things," Tersigni said of the traffic stop.
Two people were booked into the Purgatory Jail on Tuesday for investigation of drug possession on a $250,000 cash-only bond.
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com