Canadian men busted with 144+ lbs of cocaine near Gila Bend, DPS says

GILA BEND, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- Two Canadian men are in jail after a traffic stop led to a huge drug bust near Gila Bend last week. The driver, 36-year-old Albi Naska, and passenger, 36-year-old Victor Nikitin, were arrested and booked into Maricopa County jail.

On May 18, a Department of Public Safety sergeant pulled over Naska and Nikitin, who were inside a semi-truck along Interstate 8 just west of Gila Bend. The sergeant noticed suspicious behavior and had his K-9 sniff the trailer. The K-9 picked up a positive alert, and the sergeant searched the truck’s closet and sleep area. There, he found over 50 packages of cocaine, weighing just over 144 pounds.

Naska and Nikitin face several felony charges, including transportation, possession and sale of drugs.