A large amount of meth was discovered in a hidden compartment installed in a vehicle after a traffic stop near Clearwater on I-94 July 19.

Criminal complaints filed in Stearns Co. court state 52-year old Gabriel Bustos Sandoval and 44-year old Ana Delia Pacheco-Rivera were stopped by the Minnesota State Patrol on I-94 near Clearwater. Although the couple said they were from Oregon and had been traveling for several days to visit the Mall of America to go shopping, there was no sign of luggage in the vehicle, only two dogs in the back seat.

During the stop, police discovered the car wasn’t registered to the person Pacheco-Rivera stated it was and brought in a drug-sniffing dog to assist, which then alerted outside the vehicle.

During a search of the interior of the car, a professionally installed hidden compartment was discovered inside the floor of the vehicle. Inside the compartment the police found 70 one-pound packages of wholesale methamphetamine worth in excess of $400,000. 

Sandoval and Pacheco-Rivera are believed to be professional couriers used by a drug trafficking organization to distribute drugs across the country. They were each found to have several names associated with them and were booked into the Stearns Co. Jail. Both are facing felony charges of first-degree drug possession with the intent to sell.