A Florida couple was arrested Thursday following a traffic stop on Highway 92 just east of Knoxville. According to court documents officers stopped a 2007 Nissan Altima after it was observed going 76 mph in a 55 mph zone. According to the officer who made the stop, the driver 43-year-old Kaisorn Somwatchara and his wife 36-year-old Phayvanh Sengmany of Lehigh Acres, Florida stated they were visiting Des Moines to visit family and were returning to Laos on July 10th, which the officer felt did not make sense.

Upon further investigation the officer asked to search the vehicle at which time Somwatchara gave the officer consent. During the search of the vehicle officers located a backpack with four individual clear baggies all containing different colored pills. Somwatchara and Sengmany told officers they had brought the pills from Laos and they were prescribed medication for Somwatchara. One of the clear baggies contained 20 brown cylindrical pills that field tested positive for amphetamine. Another bag containing 18 white cylindrical pills also field tested positive for amphetamine. All together 38 pills field tested positive for amphetamines while 9 yellow pills and 19 white pills were sent to the DCI lab for testing. Somwatchara and Sengmany were both charged with possession of a controlled substance 1st, 2nd, and 3rd offense a class B felony as well as failure to affix a drug tax stamp a class D felony. Somwatchara was also cited for speeding.