I-5 Traffic Stop Near Cottage Grove Seizes 40 Pounds Meth, Driver Arrested

A routine traffic stop on Interstate 5 near Cottage Grove resulted in the seizure of more than 40 pounds of suspected methamphetamine and the arrest of the driver, after a trooper stopped the vehicle around 11 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 21. The stop took place near milepost 168 on I-5 south of Cottage Grove, where troopers located the large quantity of suspected methamphetamine during the encounter.

Officials said the trooper seized over 40 pounds of the suspected methamphetamine at the scene and took the driver into custody, removing the drugs from circulation on the interstate that runs through southern Lane County. The stop and seizure occurred on a busy stretch of I-5 that connects Cottage Grove to other parts of Lane County, and the trooper’s actions led directly to the arrest at the roadside location near milepost 168.

More than 40 pounds of suspected methamphetamine in a single stop represents a significant interdiction on I-5 near Cottage Grove, given the morning timing of the stop around 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21. The size of the seizure increases the likelihood that investigators will prioritize laboratory testing and chain-of-custody documentation to confirm the substance and prepare it for evidentiary processing, all steps that typically follow a trooper-level seizure of this magnitude.

The arrest of the driver following the traffic stop places the incident squarely in ongoing law enforcement and public-safety work in southern Lane County. The trooper’s seizure at milepost 168 removed more than 40 pounds of suspected methamphetamine from possible distribution routes that pass through Cottage Grove, an outcome that directly affects local law enforcement efforts to limit the availability of high-potency stimulants in Lane County communities.

The case remains in the hands of the trooper’s agency for further investigation and processing after the Feb. 21 stop near milepost 168 on I-5. As investigators move to test the seized material and determine next steps, the seizure and arrest underscore the continued presence of large-quantity drug movement along Interstate 5 through Cottage Grove and the immediate impact a single traffic stop can have on curbing that flow.