Thousands of confiscated marijuana products (Office of U.S. Attorney for Utah)
COALVILLE — A standard traffic stop in Summit County leads to the discovery of what Utah Highway Patrol is calling a one-stop pot shop.
The van, being driven by James Martin Burns, 50, believed to have been heading toward Rhode Island through Utah was found to be full of professionally packaged marijuana products, according to U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber.
“Boy, they hit the mother load here,” says Huber.
The Utah Highway Patrol says a search of Burns’ van found 7,000 THC pen cartridges, 1,400 THC vape pens, 400 jars of marijuana concentrates, and more than 200 1-pound packages of what Huber says is most likely marijuana.
Despite the size of the haul, Huber says the trend of people transporting pot products eastward is increasing.
“It is not uncommon to see this type of activity coming from west coast, legalized states to and through Utah to points east,” Huber explains.
Burns made his first court appearance Thursday. He was ordered to be held in custody until his trial begins.
If found guilty, Burns could face up to a max of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.