MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – K-9 officer Beny helped CHP officers arrest two people who were found with heroin and fentanyl pills on Friday, according to CHP officials.
CHP investigators say an officer conducted an enforcement stop on a 2018 Jeep for violating multiple California vehicle codes while driving, including an illegal window tint and following too closely to another vehicle.
According to officials, the CHP officer developed probable cause to search the vehicle and located a suspicious bundle inside the passenger’s luggage.
K-9 officer Beny was then called to the scene to sniff the bundle, alerting the officer to the odor of narcotics.
Authorities say upon further examination, officials discovered that the bundle contained approximately 1,000 fentanyl pills and around one pound of heroin.
According to officials, the driver and passenger were both arrested for violating various health and safety codes.
According to the CDC, between the years of 1999 and 2019 nearly 500,000 people died from an opioid overdose, including illicit and prescription opioids.