DPS Seizes $785K in Contraband Last Week

TONOPAH, Ariz. - DPS says that several key traffic stops led to a significant week in drug and cash seizures.

Officers seized more than $350,000 in cash, seven pounds of cocaine worth $86,000, five pounds of methamphetamine worth $133,000, and over 394 pounds of marijuana worth $216,000.

Last Wednesday at a rest area near Tonopah, a DPS officer talking with a man noticed indicators of criminal activity and found $140,120 in U.S. currency hidden in the firewall of the truck cab. The suspect, 20-year-old Javier Covarruvias Guzm, of Indio, Calif., was arrested and booked into the Maricopa County Jail. He's facing numerous charges, including money laundering.

Last Friday afternoon, a DPS officer stopped a rental motorhome near Cordes Junction for a traffic violation. The officer noticed indicators of criminal activity and got consent to search the motorhome. He found duffel bags full of marijuana.

The driver, 35-year-old Richard Edward Kesek of Phoenix, and passenger Jan Lysy, 37, of Chicago were arrested and booked into the Yavapai County Jail. They're facing multiple drug-related charges.