Man pleads not guilty in large cocaine bust

A Canadian man has pleaded not guilty in Lake County District Court after being pulled over with about 100 pounds of cocaine in his car.

Miguel Miranda of Calgary is facing a felony drug charge after a Montana Highway Patrol officer says he found about 100 pounds of cocaine in the man's pickup truck during a routine traffic stop recently in Lake County. Deputy Lake County Attorney James Lapotka said the 22-year-old Miranda was charged with one count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute. He pleaded not guilty in court last Thursday.

Miranda was pulled over in a 2006 GMC Sierra by Montana Highway Patrol at about 8 p.m. Thursday for a mud-flap violation near St. Ignatius on U.S. 93.

An officer with a canine unit found about 40 kilograms of cocaine estimated to be worth up to $1.5 million in a hidden compartment in the vehicle. The drugs were seized by the Department of Homeland Security.

Miranda recently earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He is being held in the Lake County Jail in Polson on $1 million bond.

The Montana Highway Patrol is investigating.