Two Washington men were arrested south of Biggs Junction after a traffic stop of their vehicle resulted in the discovery of narcotics with a street value of over two-point-three million dollars. The Oregon State Police says a trooper stopped a van on Highway 97 near milepost 16, and the pair inside were detained after the officer observed a handgun in the vehicle’s glovebox when a passenger opened it, and neither person had a concealed weapons permit. A subsequent search of the van revealed about 25 pounds of cocaine and 44 pounds of methamphetamine. The two men, 32-year-old Alberto Alejandro Martinez of Moses Lake and 31-year-old Jose Joel Helguera Del Rio of Royal City, were arrested and lodged in the Multnomah County Jail for multiple federal drug and firearm related charges. The investigation is ongoing with the assistance of the Homeland Security Investigations arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
(photo courtesy Oregon State Police)
