21 pounds of meth found in fire pit during traffic stop, Indiana State Police say

Two Illinois men were arrested in Lake County after Indiana State Police found 21 pounds of methamphetamine in an altered fire pit during a traffic stop last week.

State police said Friday just after noon they pulled over a black Ford Escape on I-65 near the 61st Avenue exit at the border of Merrillville and Hobart after they saw it cross the solid white fog line. The car also had a partially-covered Illinois license plate, police said.

State police said the two men inside – 29-year-old Kennedy Duran Sanchez of Chicago, who was driving, and 27-year-old Kevin Duran Sanchez of Romeoville, the passenger – seemed nervous and told officers they didn't speak English. Using translation software to community, Indiana State Police said the men gave inconsistent explanations for why they were driving through Lake County.

A K9 trained for narcotics was called to the traffic stop and alerted, according to state police. When troopers searched the car, they found a large object wrapped in cellophane in the car's back cargo area. The men told troopers it was a fire pit that belonged to someone else, police said.

When troopers opened the fire pit, they found 34 packages wrapped in cellophane, several of which were damaged and revealed a crystalline substance that was identified as meth after a field test, police said. In total, the packages weighed 21 pounds.

Both men were taken into custody and charged with felony dealing methamphetamine.

No information about court appearances were immediately available.