Man pleads not guilty to carrying $1.4 million in drugs

POLSON (AP) – A Canadian man has pleaded not guilty to charges that allege he had nearly 100 pounds of cocaine in his pickup truck while traveling through northwestern Montana.

KERR-AM reports 22-year-old Miguel Douglas Miranda of Calgary, Alberta, entered his plea to criminal possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute during a District Court hearing in Polson on Thursday.

Court records say a Montana Highway Patrol trooper who stopped Miranda on U.S. Highway 93 near St. Ignatius on June 4 found the cocaine in a hidden compartment in the bed of the truck. Prosecutors estimate its street value at $1.4 million.

Prosecutors and defense attorney Milt Datsopoulos believe the case will be moved to federal court so a trial date was not set.

Miranda remains jailed in Lake County on $1 million bond.