Nevada police confiscate $11M worth of narcotics during special operation

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Multiple Nevada law enforcement agencies turned up $11.7 million in narcotics on the Moapa River Indian Reservation.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Moapa River Indian Reservation Police, Nevada State Police, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, Henderson Police and other federal agencies were part of the operation from May 6-12. During the operation, officers seized over 2,100 pounds of narcotics worth an estimated street value of $11.7 million, according to NSP.

NSP Trooper Ashlee Wellman said it was the largest illegal marijuana seizure in NSP history.

“Federal, Tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies collaborated to form this criminal interdiction team,” said Acting Moapa Tribal Police Chief Jeff Harper. “This operation helped us identify drug, human, and sex trafficking activities that occur daily along Interstate 15 through the Moapa River Indian Reservation.”

The operation resulted in 219 traffic stops with 57 vehicle searches. Police found:

• Marijuana - 949,732 grams (2,093.8 lbs), street value: $8.1 million
• Fentanyl – 16,406 grams (36.16 lbs), street value: $2.3 million
• Cocaine - 13,080 grams (28.83 lbs), street value: $1.2 million
• Heroin - 25.13 grams (.05 lbs), street value: $ 3,670.00
• Methamphetamine - 21.15 grams (.04 lbs), street value: $ 2,136.00
• Handguns – 3

During the operation on May 9, an NSP trooper and a BIA K-9 officer conducted a search of a rental truck on I-15. The K-9 got a positive hit, NSP said, and officers located 72 large bags of marijuana.

Two suspects, Tahmir Ishon Debman and Hariz Iasir Purvis, were arrested and charged with trafficking marijuana, Wellman said. Both were booked into the Clark County Detention Center.

“The Nevada State Police takes great pride in having multi-agency partnerships working together to keep illegal substances off our roadways and out of our communities,” said NSP Colonel Pat Conmay. “This partnership resulted in the largest illegal marijuana seizure by the Nevada State Police, along with the arrest of the suspects involved. We are committed to the unified mission to keep Nevada safe.”

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