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Montana Highway Patrol arrested two people and seized almost 29 pounds of meth during a traffic stop in Custer County in 2017, according to a Thursday press release from the Montana Department of Justice.

The stop, which happened Nov. 8, 2017, resulted in a seizure of meth and marijuana, two arrests, and nine federal indictments disbanding a drug smuggling ring from California to North Dakota.

John Barnes, a spokesperson for MHP, said it was one of the largest seizures Montana has seen. According to MHP reports, in 2017 almost 69 pounds of meth was seized statewide. That means this one traffic stop accounted for more than 40 percent of the meth seized in the state that year.

The number of illegal drug arrests increased 547 percent from 2010 to 2015, according to reports from MHP.

Information on the ongoing investigation was not released until Thursday to "preserve the integrity" of the investigation and criminal proceedings, according to the press release.

According to the MHP press release:

On Nov. 8 2017, an MHP criminal interdiction trooper stopped a Nissan Maxima in Custer County for a traffic violation. Suspicious of criminal activity, the Trooper used a K-9 and determined there were illegal drugs inside the car.