Police Take Meth, Heroin, Gun, Grenades off Streets
Sep 14, 2015 01:26PM ● By Rhett Wilkinson
Two live hand grenades police seized does not mean that officers are yet changing their approach to crime. Photo courtesy Unified Police Department
By Rhett Wilkinson
Police don’t plan yet on changing their approach to crime after two live hand grenades were found in Midvale, police say.
That’s because the seizure of the explosives was an “isolated event,” Lt. Lex Bell said.
“It’s the first time we’ve dealt with it,” Bell said. “If it happens again, there’s obviously a lot more cause for concern.”
When contacted by the Midvale Journal, Midvale City spokeswoman Rori Andreason deferred to police.
The Midvale Journal asked personnel about the size of the problem in the area and the city’s efforts to rid the community of the issues.
Multiple high-scale seizures were made within days of each other, prompting concern of a cartel presence in the area. Police on Sept. 4 also found 23.5 pounds of meth, 5.5 pounds of heroin and a stolen handgun, besides the grenades. The estimated street value of the seizures is nearly $800,000. The bust came just days after authorities seized narcotics with a street value of $1 million in West Valley city.
Police made the discovery after arresting Anthony Richard Aguilera at the Staybridge Suits at 747 Blue Vista Lane. A detective was told that Aguilera had a room there. Aguilera has been indicted and transferred to federal custody, Bell told the Midvale Journal.
Unified Police Department detectives assigned to the Taylorsville Precinct Street Crimes Unit, Metro Gang Unit and members of the Utah County Major Crimes Taskforce have been working a joint investigation into a drug trafficking organization smuggling large amounts of meth and heroin into the Salt Lake valley.
Police don’t plan yet on changing their approach to crime after two live hand grenades were found in Midvale, police say.
That’s because the seizure of the explosives was an “isolated event,” Lt. Lex Bell said.
“It’s the first time we’ve dealt with it,” Bell said. “If it happens again, there’s obviously a lot more cause for concern.”
When contacted by the Midvale Journal, Midvale City spokeswoman Rori Andreason deferred to police.
The Midvale Journal asked personnel about the size of the problem in the area and the city’s efforts to rid the community of the issues.
Multiple high-scale seizures were made within days of each other, prompting concern of a cartel presence in the area. Police on Sept. 4 also found 23.5 pounds of meth, 5.5 pounds of heroin and a stolen handgun, besides the grenades. The estimated street value of the seizures is nearly $800,000. The bust came just days after authorities seized narcotics with a street value of $1 million in West Valley city.
Police made the discovery after arresting Anthony Richard Aguilera at the Staybridge Suits at 747 Blue Vista Lane. A detective was told that Aguilera had a room there. Aguilera has been indicted and transferred to federal custody, Bell told the Midvale Journal.
Unified Police Department detectives assigned to the Taylorsville Precinct Street Crimes Unit, Metro Gang Unit and members of the Utah County Major Crimes Taskforce have been working a joint investigation into a drug trafficking organization smuggling large amounts of meth and heroin into the Salt Lake valley.
In the “meth lab days” of the 1980s and 1900s, police heard about booby-trapped locations. But there isn’t much talk about booby traps anymore, Bell said.
