By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
June 21, 2007

Oregon State Police Senior Trooper Andrew Vanderwerf pulled a vehicle over for speeding along Interstate 84 on Thursday — and ended up with a major drug bust.

Arrested at the scene just west of Hood River were Sandra Barahona, 33, and Arturo Robles, 21, both of northeast Portland. The suspects were taken into custody after Vanderwerf found $10,000 of crystal methamphetamine and $17,000 of cash stashed inside the car.

Less than one month ago, a Milton-Freewater man was arrested when about $6,000 of meth was found in his possession. Victor Negrete-Campos, 22, had been pulled over for erratic driving near Exit 63 on I-84 by Hood River County Sheriff Deputy Marc Smith.

“People who transport large amounts of illegal drugs and large sums of currency are using our freeways and highways on a daily basis,” said OSP Sgt. Julie Wilcox about the recent arrests.

“It is a priority of our department to use traffic stops as a tool to talk with as many motorists as possible.”

She is hopeful that more troopers will soon be back on the freeway, increasing the number of arrests for drug trafficking.

Hood River County District Attorney John Sewell agreed with her assertion that interstate highways are often used as drug corridors.

“Just as these freeways are a major artery for legitimate commercial trade, they are also a major artery for illegal trade,” he said.

According to reports, last week’s OSP arrests involved the largest amount of meth recovered in the Gorge for several years. Wilcox said eight pounds of the drug were found inside a vehicle stopped east of The Dalles about five years ago.