Man gets five years in prison after drug bust on I-80 in Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A passenger arrested in an Interstate 80 drug bust will spend five years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says.

Jose Alfredo Ek-Poot, 51, of San Francisco was sentenced Thursday for possession of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana with intent to distribute.

U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard also sentenced Ek-Poot to four years of post-prison supervised release.

On Nov. 4, 2021, a Nebraska state trooper pulled over a speeding vehicle on I-80 near Grand Island, authorities said.

The trooper smelled marijuana and saw a bag of it inside the car.

A search of the car yielded an abundance of drugs, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The trunk held 8.5 pounds of methamphetamine, 5.5 pounds of marijuana and 10.8 ounces of cocaine.

There was also a Mason jar of marijuana in the front passenger door and a meth pipe in a backpack.

The driver, Esteban Dejusus Huerta Rocha, had a small bag of cocaine in his pocket, authorities said.

Ek-Poot pleaded guilty on Nov. 3.

Rocha pleaded guilty and was sentenced in October 2022 to more than 11 years in prison.

Another passenger, Ricardo Jiminez-Noveno, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in November 2022 to 13 years in prison.