Iowa truck driver arrested in Island Park for alleged possession of over 200 grams of psychedelic, opioid drugs
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ISLAND PARK — An Iowa man heading through Fremont County was arrested on Sept. 3 for reckless driving and later charged for possession of a controlled substance.
Selemani Mtenga faces four felony charges, including possession with intent to distribute, eluding for fleeing a pursuing police vehicle, possession of a controlled substance and failure to give immediate notice on the accident he was involved in, which reportedly caused $1,500 dollars in damage to the semi-truck he was operating.
Court documents say a deputy on patrol, headed south through Island Park on U.S. Highway 20 on Aug. 28, was informed by dispatch that there was a report made about a semi-truck driving off the road with a broken trailer.
The driver, later identified as Mtenga, from Iowa, was allegedly going 75 mph in a 65 and 45 mph zone. During a traffic stop, the semi swerved into the passing lane and continued driving.
The truck pulled to the shoulder of the road four miles later, according to police reports. The driver was arrested and placed in handcuffs for reckless driving.
During a search of the vehicle, the deputy found a plastic bag of brown powder on the floor by the drivers seat, as well as a container labeled as coconut oil with the same brown powder. There was also a plastic shopping bag with 10 plastic bags inside, all containing similar powder.
While being questioned, Mtenga told deputies the powder was medicinal and plant-based. He said that he made the powder into tea and applied the oil onto his skin.
Law enforcement suspected it was a tabernanthe iboga, a shrub native to Central and West Africa. Its root bark contains ibogaine, a powerful psychoactive alkaloid, according to WebMD. It’s considered a schedule 1 non-narcotic controlled substance in the state of Idaho.
After being asked if the substance came from the Iboga tree, Mtenga said he wasn’t sure and that he would call his relative in the Democratic Republic of Congo to ask for more powder, and it would be shipped to him through the DHL shipping company.
The deputy notes in the affidavit that based on the effects of the powder, the description and the cultural significance of where it comes from, he was able to identify the substance as Iboga.
Once the evidence was weighed, the nine small bags came to a total of 174.6 grams of red/brown Iboga. Another bag contained 13.9 grams of gray Ibogaine. The last bag weighed 13.9 grams and contained a black rock like substance that was later found to be Bombé. The National Library of Medicine notes that Bombé is a synthetic drug found primarily in the Congo, and is documented to be heroin-based.
Mtenga was initially booked in the Fremont County Jail but has since been released on his own recognizance. He appeared before Magistrate Judge Faren Eddins for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 9.
Although Mtenga has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.