A yearlong drug investigation led to two arrests Thursday at a house in Benton and the seizure of a large amount of methamphetamine and marijuana as well as a cache of guns, police said.
Officers recovered 38 weapons, three of which had been reported stolen, a Benton police spokesman said Friday.
Police charged Kongkeomany Phimmachack, 39, and Michelle Isom, 33, with multiple felonies, including trafficking, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, maintaining a drug premises and theft by receiving.
Jail records indicate Phimmachack and Isom are from Mabelvale, and bail has not been set for either.
The investigation was conducted by units from the Benton police, Saline County sheriff's office, Arkansas State Police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to a news release issued Friday.
"Today, we have disrupted a criminal organization that was responsible for distributing a large amount of crystal methamphetamine throughout our community," Saline County Sheriff Rodney White said in the release.
Benton police spokesman Matt Burks said the house on Ram Road where the arrests were made was not likely used as a place to manufacture meth.
Burks said the drugs were likely obtained in Mexico, a country that increasingly has become a source of meth after laws passed in Arkansas and other states have made it more difficult for manufacturers to buy ingredients over the counter.
Police also seized cars and cash at the house, Burks said.
Burks said the investigation surrounding the seized drugs is ongoing, and more arrests are expected.
State Desk on 05/07/2016