Up to 10 pounds of meth, illegal deportee discovered in I-90 traffic stop

Three men are in jail on federal charges following a Tuesday traffic stop on I-90 that allegedly yielded up to 10 pounds of methamphetamine and a man who had already been deported from the U.S.
Angel Guzman-Banderos, 27, Alfonso Banderas-Martinez, 23, and Luis Felipe Lopez-Rojas, 23, were arrested on April 26 and each charged in federal court April 28 with one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. They are each being held without bond.
According to court documents filed by FBI Agent Thomas M. Benjamin, the three suspects were stopped by Stillwater County Sheriff’s Deputy Randy Smith for speeding on I-90 near mile marker 400. The three men acted nervous and produced identification that showed one was from California, one was from Michigan and one was from Mexico. None of the men knew the name of the Billings resident who had rented the vehicle they were driving.
When asked if there was anything illegal in the vehicle, two said no and one said yes. Smith and his K-9 partner, Figo, searched the exterior of the vehicle. Figo alerted on the passenger side rear window, according to court documents.
All three suspects were taken to the sheriff’s office and the vehicle was impounded pending the execution of a search warrant. In that search, agents found a 28-quart cooler in the rear cargo area that had “unusual” bulges in the liner, according to court documents. The liner was removed and agents discovered the cooler’s insulation had been cut away and in its place were seven duct tape-wrapped packages, according to court documents.
Inside that duct tape-wrapped package was a heat-sealed bag containing methamphetamine.
The total weight of the seven packages, including the packing material, was 4,906.20 grams, according to court documents. That is 10.81 pounds.
All three were taken to the Yellowstone County Detention Facility and the suspects’ fingerprints were sent to the Homeland Security Investigations Deportation and Removal Unit. There it was discovered that two of the suspects had provided false names. Additionally, Guzman-Banderos had previously been deported from the United States, according to court documents.