MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A traffic stop by a California Highway Patrol K-9 officer on Friday led to the largest drug bust in Merced County history, ultimately seizing $10.5 million worth of narcotics, according to authorities.
CHP says around 1:00 p.m. a K-9 officer conducted a stop for a traffic violation northbound on Interstate 5 at the Santa Nella Scales. During the contact, the officer noted several factors leading him to believe the driver and passenger were engaged in criminal activity.
The CHP K-9 officer says he deployed his canine partner “Luna” who gave a positive alert that the odor of narcotics was emitting from the car. As they were preparing to search the vehicle, the driver fled the scene into a nearby almond orchard.
Though an extensive search was conducted with assistance from the Merced County Sheriff’s Department and a CHP air unit, CHP says the driver was not located. However, he was positively identified by evidence retrieved from the vehicle.
Upon searching the car, officers say they found and seized:
- 735,000 fentanyl-laced pills (about 161 pounds)
- 133 pounds of methamphetamine
- 37 pounds of cocaine
The Merced Area Gang Narcotics Enforcement Team (MAGNET) responded to assist with the investigation and took into custody 23-year-old Luis Felipe Ponce Rosales of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Following an interview, MAGNET officers say Ponce Rosales was booked under suspicion of possession of methamphetamine for sale, transportation of methamphetamine across noncontiguous counties, possession of cocaine/fentanyl for sale, and transportation of cocaine/fentanyl across noncontiguous counties.