A traffic stop made earlier this month due to an unsafe lane change resulted in the discovery of a reported 15 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and 2.4 pounds of heroin in the back seat of a vehicle. At 8 a.m. on Thursday, July 7, a Navajo County Sheriff’s deputy pulled a vehicle over on Interstate 40 near Holbrook. As the deputy was speaking to the suspects, he noted that neither of the occupants had a driver’s license and both seemed to be extremely nervous. When asked why they were so nervous, they said it was because they had iguana meat concealed inside the vehicle. The deputy impounded the vehicle until a licensed driver could pick it up and while conducting an inventory, he located a large quantity of drugs in the back seat of the vehicle. Officials estimated that the methamphetamine found in the car has a street value of $681,000 and the heroin has a street value of $112,000, for a total street value of $793,000. Sergio Gutierres-Esquivel, 29, and Ana Esquivel-Del Toro, 37, both of Mexico were arrested and charged with transportation of dangerous drugs for sale, transportation of a narcotic drug and possession of drug paraphernalia. An investigation is being conducted into the frozen iguana meat that may have been illegally smuggled into the United States from Mexico. That part of the investigation was turned over to the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The criminal case has been forwarded to the Navajo County Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
