Four arrests in pair of traffic stops targeting Crook County meth distribution ring

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) – Central Oregon drug agents have arrested three Prineville residents and a Troutdale man in a pair of recent traffic stops targeting a drug ring accused of bringing commercial amounts of methamphetamine into Crook County for sale.

For the past several months, detectives assigned to the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team have been investigating a “mid-size organization” that was trafficking commercial quantities of meth throughout the Crook County area, Lt. Ken Mannix said.

Detectives were able to identify several elements of the operation, including those involved and various locations of interest, he said. The information led investigators to believe commercial quantities of meth were being brought into the area to sell for a profit.

A 63-year-old Troutdale man was contacted on Feb. 5 at around 9 p.m. in a traffic stop near the intersection of Northwest Madras Highway and Ryegrass Road, Mannix said. A search of the man’s white 2013 Ford pickup turned up about a half-pound of meth concealed inside, along with other evidence of meth sales, manufacturing and distribution. The driver was arrested on drug charges and a parole violation.

Last Friday, at around 10:45 p.m., three Prineville men, ages 58, 59 and 65, were contacted during a traffic stop of a white 2001 Ford pickup on the O’Neil Highway near milepost 8, Mannix said. A search of the truck turned up about a half-pound of meth, cash and a rifle.

The three were arrested and lodged at the Crook County Jail, one on charges of meth possession, manufacturing and distribution, and the other two on criminal conspiracy charges.

The Crook County Sheriff’s Office and Prineville Police Department assisted CODE detectives throughout the investigation, along with narcotics K-9 Jett and his partner, Sgt. Mitch Madden of the Crook County Sheriff’s Office, Mannix said.