Two cannabis busts by Illinois State Police on Interstate 72 Monday led to a combined drug seizure of at least 10,000 grams of cannabis.
According to booking reports from the Morgan County Detention Facility, 33 year old Derek Paul Utt, of the state of Ohio, was arrested Monday evening by Illinois State Police District 9 after a traffic stop on I-72 at approximately mile marker 66, reportedly just south of McKean Road. The list of alleged crimes for which Utt was arrested include cannabis trafficking, manufacture or delivery of cannabis, and possession of cannabis greater than 5,000 grams. Utt was booked in jail at about 8:30 p.m. Monday and is still currently in custody at the Morgan County Detention Facility. No additional information about the traffic stop and arrest has been provided by District 9 officials at this time.
Later in the night, according to a recent press release from Illinois State Police District 20, a similar traffic stop was performed at milepost 48 at about 11:30 pm Monday. As a result of the traffic stop, 42 year old Donnie Charles Huffman, of the state of Oregon, was arrested for cannabis trafficking and possession of more than 5,000 grams of cannabis, also citing him with intent to deliver. Huffman was likely taken into custody at the Pike County jail, though it was not specified in the press release. After the traffic stop was initiated, an Illinois State Police K9 unit was called in and made a confirmed positive detection of illegal drugs coming from within the vehicle. A subsequent search revealed nearly 60 pounds of cannabis was hidden inside the vehicle.
Assisting Illinois State Police District 20 in the arrest of Huffman and the cannabis seizure of over 60 pounds on Interstate 72 in Scott County was the West Central Illinois Task Force.