Man arrested after 6 pounds of meth found during traffic stop, cops say

NEPHI – Police arrested a man in Nephi Wednesday on suspicion of illegal possession of more than 6 pounds of methamphetamine.

Samuela Kenny Mafileo, 33, was arrested on suspicion of speeding, possession of an illegal substance with intent to resell, carrying a firearm as a restricted person and failure to wear a seatbelt for a child between the ages of 8 and 16, according to a police affidavit.

A Utah Highway Patrol trooper said he was contacted by another trooper about a “suspicious vehicle traveling north on I-15,” the police report said. Also, around 2:11 a.m. Wednesday, a black Chrysler minivan was traveling north. The trooper said his radar caught the vehicle traveling 85 mph in an 80 mph zone.

The officer said as he approached the vehicle, he asked the man and woman in the car about their travels. He said their answers “did not add up at this time,” the affidavit states.

After a sniffer dog unit detected an odor during a search of the car from the outside, the patrol officer searched the interior of the vehicle and found “a gray backpack in the rear of the vehicle containing several large packages of a crystal-like substance consistent with methamphetamine,” the report said.

The officer then arrested the occupants, the affidavit states, placing the woman and a small child in one patrol car and Mafileo in another.

“The vehicle was then transported to the Juab County Jail where the search was completed,” the affidavit states. During the search, a fully loaded Glock 19 9mm weapon and a 31-round magazine were found, the report states.

A drug test later revealed 6.4 pounds of methamphetamine, according to the affidavit. Mafileo – who reportedly had a previous conviction for weapons possession – was booked into the Juab County Jail.

The woman and child were released with the vehicle, the affidavit states.