By Linda Williams | Posted - May 8, 2015 at 7:33 a.m.

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PARK CITY — Police in Park City seized 54 pounds of marijuana during a large drug bust Thursday.

A police officer working on a joint drug interdiction operation made a traffic stop about six miles east of the I-80/I-84 split on I-80 eastbound around 10:45 a.m.

The officer was specially trained to spot vehicles that might be transporting drugs through the state, police said.

A K-9 hinted there were drugs in the van, which was rented from California, and officers found a hidden compartment in the floor of the van.

"It was the first one for this pretty new officer in the drug interdiction," said Capt. Phil Kirk of the Park City Police Department. "All of that training and time that he's spent on learning this assignment paid off today in making a big drug bust."

Kirk said the drugs were worth about $70,000 and this was one of the bigger drug busts Park City police have made.

Police arrested the van's driver, 43-year-old Arthur Ohannseyan of San Francisco, and booked him into the Summit County Jail for investigation of possession of marijuana and several traffic violations.

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