Tip Leads To Stash Of Meth Deputies Uncover Drugs Missed In Original Search

When patrol officers arrested Michael J. Kandle on Saturday they found only a small amount of drugs in his van.

So they put Kandle in the Kootenai County Jail, and they put his van in the impound yard, Idaho State Police officials said.

But a tip from a Minnesota sheriff’s department sent them hunting through the van again Wednesday. And this time, they found a package of methamphetamine valued at more than $7,000, said ISP Sgt. Jay Komosinski.

Kandle, 47, of Grand Rapids, Minn., was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison if convicted, Komosinski said.

Idaho State Police were conducting a “drug interdiction” on Interstate 90 July 22. Signs announcing the interdiction lined the highway as several officers carefully watched passing cars for erratic behavior.

Kandle was driving his van east on I-90 when he passed the signs and quickly pulled off the highway exit. He then stopped in the middle of state Highway 97, Komosinski said.

Sgt. Clyde Kaffenberger pulled over Kandle and a drug-sniffing dog then searched the van.

The dog found small amounts of marijuana and methamphetamine, a stimulant that is sweeping the Inland Northwest, Komosinski said. Kandle was arrested and charged with drug possession.

But on Wednesday, Komosinski got a call from the Itasca County Sheriff’s Department. Officers there had been tipped off that more drugs were somewhere in the van.

Komosinski searched the van Wednesday and found 244 grams of methamphetamine, about a half-pound, behind the driver’s seat.

Komosinski said the dog probably missed the drugs the first time because it was such a large quantity.

“The dog was kind of going nuts inside the van,” Komosinski said. “When you have a large quantity it puts out such a strong odor the dog gets kind of confused because the odor is overwhelming.”

Kandle is being held at the Kootenai County Jail.

, DataTimes