DEA St. Louis Division Seizes Record 400+ pounds of Meth
Estimates Place Value at over $1 million
A table laden with methamphetamine seized from a storage unit in St. Louis, totaling about 460 pounds.
ST. LOUIS – A man from Wildwood, Missouri, has been caught with at least 400 pounds of methamphetamine, federal charging documents allege.
Kolby L. Kristiansen, 68, was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday with possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Charging documents say that investigators located a storage unit in St. Louis County that was being used by Kristiansen to store methamphetamine. On June 29, a drug-sniffing K9 alerted to Kristiansen’s storage unit, and on July 1, investigators executed a federal search warrant there, finding three plastic containers containing suspected methamphetamine. The containers, including the suspected drugs and interior packaging materials, weighed a total of 476 pounds, charging documents allege.
“Methamphetamine has a street value of about $2,500 to $3,500 per pound at the mid-level drug distribution level where this drug was seized,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael A. Davis, head of DEA’s St. Louis Division. “That makes this seizure valued at more than $1 million, the largest meth seizure in this division’s history. It’s a testament to the dedicated effort of our agents at stopping this poison from reaching our communities.”
Kristiansen was recently released from federal prison after being found guilty of similar charges stemming from a 2014 case.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Illinois State Police and the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southern Illinois.
