Who is transporting deadly drug shipments to Utah?

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Highway Patrol troopers find meth, cocaine and fentanyl in shoe boxes, luggage, hidden compartments in cars and even a child seat on I-15. In August, KSL investigators provided an exclusive look at the deadly drug trade on Utah's busiest roadways. That reporting raises questions about how ordinary people are recruited to transport drugs for Mexico-based cartels.

“They have couriers they pay to receive these shipments and drive them to distribution cities like Salt Lake City,” said Dustin Gillespie, deputy special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Utah.

KSL investigators sat down with Gillespie and UHP Maj. Jeff Nigbur to find out who exactly is driving these deadly cargoes.

“I think you'll notice the randomness,” Nigbur said. “You know, when you think of criminals, you think of a certain type of person, don't you? They're just normal people, you know, like you and me.”

Investigators say the couriers could be grandparents, young adults, U.S. citizens and non-citizens. They could be traveling alone, in pairs or even with the whole family.

“We're checking anything and everything,” said UHP Sergeant Jeff Blankenagel. “A lot of the drugs that come through I-15 and into Salt Lake are actually being smuggled in using cars with Utah plates.”

UHP Sgt. Blankenagel patrols I-15 in July 2024. (Josh Szymanik, KSL TV)

But the cartels are difficult to stop if you stop a courier.

“We have leaders and authoritative figures stationed in Mexico, and then we have individual couriers who know nothing about the overall activities of the cartel,” Gillespie said. “And that's intentional.”

Couriers are dispensable for the cartels, he said.

“They may know to drive to a McDonald's or Walmart parking lot in Salt Lake City, park the car and go inside,” Gillespie said.

The UHP investigation videos, provided to KSL upon request, show interviews with couriers who were caught by cops. In one video, a courier tells investigators he made about 10 deliveries to Utah over a six-month period — but everything from the number he was supposed to call to the location he was supposed to leave the vehicle was different each time.

“I don’t know any of the people I stopped by,” the man told investigators.

An estimated 18,000 fentanyl pills, firearms and ammunition were seized by UHP following a traffic stop on I-15 in November 2023. (Ken Fall, KSL TV)

Defense attorney Clayton Simms represented a passenger in one of the vehicles stopped in the cases investigated by KSL investigators. Officers found thousands of fentanyl pills hidden deep inside the vehicle and arrested the two men inside. Simms said couriers are often “blind mules.”

“Often the people transporting these items don't know what the item is or what its value is,” he said. “So it's kept secret from them and often the compartments where the items are located aren't accessible to the people in the car either.”

The courier represented by Simms reached a deal and avoided prison.

Both Simms and investigators said that couriers often have bad luck or struggle with addiction themselves, and that's why they often get the job. One courier told investigators that he got into drug delivery through a man he met at a car wash.

According to the DEA, I-15 is the busiest drug trafficking corridor running north to south through the Western United States. (Josh Szymanik, KSL TV)

But couriers face high risks. They face crimes and potential prison sentences, but have little information that could be of use to the authorities.

So why do they do it?

“We did it out of desperation and for the money,” a courier told police. “That's why we're here.”

While law enforcement agencies are working hard to stop drug shipments from entering Utah, they also understand that even a major raid is just a drop in the bucket for the cartels – the price they pay for thriving billion-dollar companies.

“Does that mean we slow down, stop, or throw our arms up?” Gillespie asked. “No. I say we stand still and keep fighting.”

Have you experienced something you think is wrong? KSL Investigators want to help you. Send your tip to [email protected] or 385-707-6153 so we can take action on your behalf.