Songying Lao, 50, of Minneapolis, and Yia Yang, 41, of St. Paul, were traveling in a Toyota Tundra on I-90 when they were pulled over for speeding, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
The deputy noted the smell of marijuana, and a search of the vehicle revealed there was “roughly 85 pounds” of pot in the pickup, the Star Tribune reported.
The two remained in jail; bail was set at $100,000 for each. Lao and Yang will appear in court on April 20.
It was the third time this year authorities in the Dakotas or Minnesota have made large marijuana busts. In late January, North Dakota police found 476 pounds of marijuana worth more than $3 million after pulling over a truck for a minor driving violation, the Star Tribune reported. A few days later, Minnesota state troopers pulled over a motorist on I-94 and a drug-sniffing dog discovered 200 pounds of marijuana valued at more than $600,000, according to the newspaper.
About the Author