RAPID CITY, S.D. – Two Rapid City residents are in custody after a Pennington County traffic stop uncovered thousands of fentanyl pills, powdered fentanyl, and cocaine, law enforcement officials announced.

Travis Gustave Harberts, 36, and Maranza Dee Ball, 35, both of Rapid City, were taken into custody Sept. 14. The arrests followed an investigation led by the Unified Narcotic Enforcement Team, which determined that fentanyl and cocaine were being transported into Rapid City from Colorado.

A South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper conducted the traffic stop in Pennington County that led to the apprehension of both suspects. During the search, law enforcement officers seized approximately 409.9 grams of counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl – amounting to roughly 4,000 pills – along with 34 grams of powdered fentanyl, 14.9 grams of cocaine, and $3,695.61 in U.S. currency.

Harberts and Ball each face identical felony and misdemeanor charges, including:

  • One felony count of Distribution/Manufacturing of Controlled Substance Schedule II (Fentanyl)
  • One felony count of Distribution/Manufacturing of Controlled Substance Schedule II (Cocaine)
  • One felony count of Possession of Controlled Drug/Substance Schedule II (Fentanyl)
  • One felony count of Possession of Controlled Drug/Substance Schedule II (Cocaine)
  • Two misdemeanor counts of Possession or Use of Drug Paraphernalia (Fentanyl and Cocaine)
  • Seatbelt violation

Both individuals are currently being held at the Pennington County Jail. Law enforcement emphasized that both suspects are “presumed innocent under the U.S. Constitution.”

UNET is a multi-agency task force led by the South Dakota Attorney General’s Division of Criminal Investigation. The team includes personnel from the Rapid City Police Department, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and Box Elder Police Department, operating in close partnership with federal agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.