By Kayla Anderson

MCIN

August was a busy time for the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office as they performed two major drug busts, keeping a hefty amount of marijuana, hashish, psychedelic mushrooms, and Fentanyl off Nevada roads.  

At 4:30 a.m. on August 13, MCSO deputies pulled over a gold-colored Toyota Camry on US-95 mile marker 52 and after asking the driver some questions became suspicious of his travel. They called its drug-sniffing K9 Nora over to the scene who showed a positive alert to drugs being in the vehicle. Officers pulled out eight pounds of Fentanyl pills which authorities believe has an approximate street value of $750,000.

The driver of the Toyota Camry is a Mexican immigrant who goes by the name of Andy Garcia Ayala, age 26 from Phoenix, Arizona. He is being held at the Mineral County Detention Center on charges of trafficking more than 400 grams of Schedule II narcotics on a $400,000 bond. 

A week later on the morning of August 21st, police officers pulled over a black Audi sedan near mile marker 50 on US-95. Becoming suspicious of the driver’s behavior, they called Nora over to the vehicle who detected something. While searching the vehicle, deputies found 1 pound of psychedelic mushrooms, 11.5 pounds of hashish, and 8 pounds of marijuana in two duffel bags. The approximate street value of this haul is $60,000. 

The driver of the Audi is Samual Chase, age 31, from Nevada City, California. Chase was booked into Mineral County Detention Center on charges of trafficking marijuana, trafficking Schedule 1 controlled substances, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. Each offense carries a $205,140 bond charge.