The highway patrol is at it again with another big drug bust on Interstate 90. Troopers discovered 35,000 pills of ecstasy during a traffic stop just outside of Rapid City on Friday. It's just the latest bust in what's been a busy month for troopers.

Interstate 90 is a well-travelled road in South Dakota. But in addition to the tourists, truck drivers and others who use it to get around, highway patrol troopers are seeing more criminals using it to transport drugs.

"Our guys are working hard here and they are discovering more drugs all the time. Number one because they are getting better at it and number two because we probably are seeing more traffickers come through the state because of pressure in the southern states," says Lieutenant Kevin Karley with the Highway Patrol.

The latest drug bust consisted of $350,000 worth of ecstasy, something Karley says troopers don't usually find. 

"We don't discover as much ecstasy as we do methamphetamine and marijuana. It's not as popular as those two drugs but we do discover it occasionally," he says.

In the last thirty days, the highway patrol has seized large amounts of marijuana three times, along with cocaine and meth each one time. It adds up to a street value of more than a million dollars. 

"Sure it's a lot but that's a good thing," says Karley.

Drugs aren't the only dangerous item carried in those vehicles. Sometimes, the people inside also carry weapons. 

"They are criminals. In some cases they carry weapons and some cases they don't. They are from all walks of life," Karley adds.

And even though there has been a recent spike in activity, Karley says troopers will continue to work hard to keep the roads safe for everyone.