Traffic stop leads to thousands of Ecstasy pills

Portland police arrest two Washington men after the discovery of $700,000 in drugs

The Portland Tribune, Nov 19, 2009, Updated Nov 19, 2009

Two Washington men are in custody and Portland police are sorting through thousands of tablets of the drug Ecstasy after a traffic stop early Thursday morning on Interstate 5 near the Terwilliger Boulevard off-ramp.

It could be the largest drug seizure in Portland Police Bureau history.

Police said Thursday afternoon that 39-year-old James Joshua Thompson of Blaine, Wash., and 34-year-old Steven Michael Jeter of Kennewick, Wash., have been charged with distribution of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. Both men are in the downtown Multnomah County Jail.

Police said that at about 12:15 a.m., police stopped a northbound pickup with two men inside. Portland Police Bureau drug dog “Nico” sniffed the truck and pointed to a stash of pills hidden in a large truck box in the pickup’s bed.

Inside, police discovered 46,000 Ecstasy pills worth about $650,000 to $700,000 on the street.

Thompson and Jeter were taken into custody and questioned about the cargo. They were arrested several hours later.

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