While on patrol on Feb. 19, an Elma police officer investigating a car parked at a closed recreational area, the 10th Street Park, went to talk to the driver.

Noting a digital scale with a white powdery substance on the floor between the driver’s feet, the officer arrested the driver, leading to the seizure of the car and drugs valued at tens of thousands of dollars, according to an EPD news release.

“(This is) one of our biggest busts,” said Chief Susan Schultz in an email. “We see it in Elma, but not normally in this quantity.”

The suspect, who claimed to be a transient worker in-country on a work visa, was booked for possession of a controlled substance — intent to deliver, according to the news release. The suspect did not consent to the search of the car, causing officers to seize the car while they applied for a search warrant.

While the suspect was released by the prosecutor’s office pending further investigation, the warrant was granted and carried out, according to the news release. Searching the vehicle, officers located thousands of suspected fentanyl-laced pills, a loose powder suspected to be fentanyl, and approximately four pounds of what’s believed to be methamphetamine. The street value of the meth alone is approximately $30,000, according to the news release. Samples have been sent to the state’s drug lab for testing and identification, according to the news release.

“I am very proud of the work our officers do on a daily basis,” Schultz said in the news release. “This is a fine example of due diligence by our officer to get deadly drugs off our streets. This is not just a big city problem, it’s everyone’s problem.”

The EPD is working with the county’s drug task force to compare it to other seizures, Schultz said. The investigation is ongoing.

Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.