Drug interdiction team makes ‘large bust’ during traffic stop on Interstate 75

LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - One person is facing charges and another was cited following what one law enforcement task force is calling a ‘major drug bust’.

The Laurel County 75/80 Drug Interdiction Team, which is made up of officers from the London Police Department and Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, confiscated a large number of drugs during a traffic stop on I-75 early Wednesday.

One LPD officer and two LCSO deputies stopped a car near the KY 909 exit just before 12:30 a.m.

During the stop, law enforcement discovered the driver, Barry Patton, 45, of Richmond was driving on a suspended license. A K-9 unit was called in and alerted police to the possibility of drugs in the car.

A search of the vehicle found nearly 5 grams of a white crystal substance believed to be meth, more than 6 grams of a gray powder believed to be heroin and another 6 plus grams of suspected heroin. Police also found clear plastic baggies, a scale, a glass vial with white powder inside and a handgun.

Patton was arrested on multiple charges including trafficking in a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. A passenger in the car, Joshua Lopez, 41, of Berea was cited for trafficking in a controlled substance and other charges.

The interdiction team was formed to combat drug trafficking and other offenses along the busy I-75 and Ky. 80 corridors.