Authorities seize drugs in back-to-back busts

Local law enforcement agencies seized more than 1 1/2 pounds of illegal drugs early this week, after arresting two suspected traffickers within a span of 24 hours, according to a press release from Lake County Sheriff Don Bell.

In the initial incident Sunday night, officers with the Mission Valley Drug Task Force working in cooperation with federal agencies arrested 38-year-old Michael Robinson of California for possession of 12 grams of heroin after executing a search warrant on the house he was staying in, the release states. Robinson was charged with possession with intent to distribute and obstructing a peace officer after he provided a false name to authorities, according to the release. He is being held in Lake County Jail on a $20,000 bond.

Early the next morning, a Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a vehicle that had slid off the road along MT Highway 28. After attempting to help the occupants, the deputy grew suspicious that they were involved in an interstate drug trafficking operation, the release states. A Montana Highway Patrol K-9 Unit was summoned to the scene and confirmed the deputy’s suspicions. After attaining a search warrant for the vehicle, authorities found 1 pound of methamphetamine and three-quarters of a pound of marijuana, according to the release. Leonardo Perez, 18, of Pasco, Wash., was arrested and charged with possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

The incidents are not believed to be connected, the release states.