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A Kasson man was charged in Freeborn County District Court on Tuesday with possession of more than 15 pounds of methamphetamine during a traffic stop early Monday on Interstate 35 south of Albert Lea.

Court documents state Juan Miguel Angulo, 38, is believed to have driven the drugs from Colorado, where he only stayed five hours before making the trip back to Minnesota.

According to the court complaint, the Minnesota State Patrol was alerted to Angulo by the Rochester Police Department drug task force the day before. A State Patrol trooper was notified when Angulo was getting close to Minnesota and found the vehicle traveling northbound on I-35 approaching milepost 5.

The trooper initially pulled the vehicle over for illegal window tint on the front of the driver’s side window.

The court complaint stated when the trooper informed Angulo that his tint was too dark and then asked for his driver’s license, Angulo reportedly admitted he did not have a license and gave the trooper his Minnesota identification card. His driver’s license came back as revoked. Also inside the car was Angulo’s wife and three children.

According to court documents, Angulo’s eyes were bloodshot and watery, and he appeared to be disheveled and smelled strongly of body odor. Through training and experience, the trooper said this was consistent with driving long hours and making quick turnaround trips.

Angulo reportedly told the trooper they were coming back from Blackhawk, Colorado, where they were staying at the casino. The trooper found times when Angulo reportedly seemed to get mixed up and did not have his story straight.

When the trooper asked Angulo if there was anything illegal in the vehicle, he reportedly said there was not and agreed to a search.

A drug detection K-9 alerted to the rear hatch of the vehicle, and when the trooper owned the hatch, he noticed a large tire under a white bed sheet. Angulo reportedly said it was a new tire for his diesel vehicle.

When the trooper removed the tire, he immediately noticed how heavy the tire was compared to a normal tire. When he rolled it back and forth, he could hear large objects moving around inside the tire.

After cutting the sidewall of the tire, the trooper found 15 packages wrapped in black plastic. The packages field-tested positive for meth. There were also several plastic water bottles and large pieces of bubble wrap that were suspected to be used to dampen the noise of the narcotics in the tire.

The packages containing narcotics weighed 15.66 pounds, including packaging.

In court on Tuesday, Freeborn County District Court Judge Christy Hormann set Angulo’s conditional bail at $250,000. Conditions included signing a waiver of extradition, not leaving the state without written court approval, GPS monitoring and random testing, among others.

Unconditional bail was set at $500,000.

He is next slated to appear in court Nov. 5.

First-degree drug possession carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a $1 million fine. If convicted, Angulo faces a mandatory prison sentence of not less than 65 months.