Authorities Find Massive Meth Stash Stuffed in Suitcases in Washington Forest

Crystal meth paste at a clandestine laboratory near la Rumorosa town in Tecate, Baja California state, Mexico, on Aug. 28, 2018. (Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images)

A massive stash of meth was found stuffed in two suitcases in a Washington forest with an estimated street value of $1 million.

A sergeant with the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office and his K-9 partner found the two suitcases containing 186 pounds of methamphetamine in the Okanogan National Forest on Monday, June 17, according to Gazette-Tribune.

The sheriff’s office was assisting the Department of Homeland Security with an air smuggling investigation near Mazama, Wash., King5 News reported, when the deputy made the unusual find.

King5 posted the story on its Facebook page, where it garnered numerous reactions.

“Good Lord, thankful it’s in the right hands now,” wrote one commenter. “Bless you and the work you do. Cannot thank you enough. Glad it’s off the streets.”

“Outstanding work,” commented another. “Thank you to all involved and working together with local and federal agencies, the way they should be allowed to work together.”

The sheriff’s office was cited by KREM as saying K-9 Gunner was purchased with funds raised by Okanogan County residents. He has been working with Sgt. Davis for six years.

The sheriff said the suitcases full of meth were located in a heavily brushy area in the National Forest, according to King5 news.

“The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest encompasses more than four million acres in Washington state and stretches north to south from the Canadian border to the Goat Rocks Wilderness—a distance of about 180 miles,” the Forest Service says on its website.

“Cocaine has been the main narcotic purchased by detectives over the last few years but methamphetamine is a close second,” according to the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office’s website. “The task force also works border cases involving smuggling, usually marijuana cases.”

No information was immediately available on whether the authorities have identified any suspects in the massive meth bust.

Man Brings Marijuana-Filled Suitcase on Plane

In related news, a California man admitted to transporting 30 pounds of marijuana hidden in a suitcase on board a plane.

Gerardo Delgadillo Jr., 22, pleaded guilty in federal court in Huntington, West Virginia on Monday, June 17, to possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.

Prosecutors cited by The Associated Press said Delgadillo flew in October to Tri-State Airport in Kenova, West Virginia, with the marijuana in tow. Delgadillo said in court that he planned to sell the drug.

He faces up to five years in prison.

Police Find ‘Pot Nursery’ Hidden Under Toilet

In other related news, police in the Netherlands posted a video on Twitter showing the entrance to a cannabis grow room they discovered beneath a toilet bowl in a Rotterdam bathroom.

The footage was posted on Oct. 17, 2018, but the bust took place the previous year. In the caption, police noted the creativity of the drug traffickers.

“That criminals are sometimes pretty inventive is clear from the video below. Last year, after a long search, we found a hemp farm at the premises of a business at the Sluisjesdijk,” wrote the Team Parate Eenheid Politie Rotterdam, a unit of the Dutch police, on Twitter.

After removing the toilet and part of the floor, police discovered a ladder leading to a cannabis nursery.

Police concluded the tweet with a joke that this particular toilet “turned out to be very well clogged.”

Sluisjesdijk, the location identified in the tweet, is a street in Rotterdam’s Waalhaven District, an area that includes the port and various industrial sites.

Waalhaven has been the site of numerous drug busts and officials have warned of increased smuggling in Rotterdam.

According to the NL Times, on June 28, 2017, investigators found 107 kilograms (235 pounds) of cocaine packed in shrink-wrapped bundles at a Waalhaven business. The drug bundles had been hidden in a false ceiling in a container.

Detectives found more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of cocaine in a Waalhaven business in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on June 28, 2017. (Dutch Public Prosecutor/OM)

High-Potency Cannabis Linked to Psychosis

Researchers examining data from 11 European cities say high-potency cannabis may cause psychosis.

The research, published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal, found that daily cannabis use, particularly of high potency cannabis, is strongly linked to the risk of developing psychosis.

Workers produce medical marijuana at Canopy Growth Corporation's Tweed facility in Smiths Falls, Ont., on Feb. 12, 2018. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Psychosis is a medical condition characterized by hallucinations and delusions—distinct from hearing voices, paranoia, or the mind-altering effect of being high on drugs.

“Observational studies and biological evidence support a causal link between cannabis use and psychosis,” said a statement from Kings College London. “But until now, it has been unclear whether, at a population level, patterns of cannabis use influence rates of psychosis.”

The link was particularly marked in the cities of London and Amsterdam, where “skunk” is smoked at much higher levels than other European cities.

Stock image of cannabis. (Social Butterfly MMG)

In London, a third of psychosis cases are the result of smoking skunk, according to the study. In Amsterdam, it is half.