The South Dakota Highway Patrol seized these 207 pounds of methamphetamine during a traffic stop, the most ever captured by the agency, according to a news release on Aug. 11, 2025. (Courtesy of Governor's Office)
The South Dakota Highway Patrol made its largest-ever seizure of methamphetamine when it discovered 207 pounds of crystal meth during a recent traffic stop, according to Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, whose Monday announcement said the subject is not a U.S. citizen and is “now in immigration proceedings.”
The estimated street value of the drugs is $12 million, the news release said.
Rhoden used the arrest as an opportunity to tout his Operation Prairie Thunder, which commits state government personnel and resources to assist with the activities of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We are taking action to protect the people of South Dakota from criminals and drug traffickers,” Rhoden said in the release.
His office said the suspect is the eighth person who isn’t a citizen stopped by the Highway Patrol since it signed an agreement to assist ICE earlier this year amid an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration. The state’s Department of Corrections and the Division of Criminal Investigation have also signed agreements with the federal agency.
The type of agreement that the Highway Patrol has with ICE was discontinued during the Obama and Biden administrations, due to concerns about racial profiling.
The suspect in the meth seizure case is a 42-year-old man who was allegedly stopped for speeding on Interstate 90 in Sturgis. A service dog detected an odor that led to the discovery of the drugs, according to the news release from Rhoden’s office.
Although the release related those and other details of the arrest and said the suspect is charged with three crimes, it did not include his name, making it difficult for South Dakota Searchlight to immediately find court documents related to the case. Department of Public Safety spokesman Brad Reiners declined to provide the name.
“I am unable to release any details on the individual as this is still an active investigation,” Reiners wrote in an email.
The news release said other agencies assisting in the investigation include the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Meade County Sheriff’s Office and Rapid City Police Department.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Comments