Man caught with 54 pounds of meth on I-80 in Nebraska is sent to prison

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A man was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for hauling methamphetamine in Nebraska.

Juan Martinez Arroyo, a 22-year-old from Mexico, will spend 11 years behind bars.

In August 2023, he was pulled over on Interstate 80 in Hamilton County for following too closely.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said he and his passenger, Edwin Correa Miranda, couldn’t get their stories straight about their travel plans.

The Nebraska State Patrol called in a drug dog, which smelled meth.

Troopers searched the vehicle and found a duffle bag containing 11 packages of meth.

The patrol’s crime lab found that the meth weighed a total of 54 pounds.

Authorities said they also found a loaded handgun and five rounds of ammunition under the passenger seat.

Correa Miranda is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 7.