Merced County traffic stop leads to discovery of about $700K worth of narcotics, CHP says
A Merced County traffic stop led to the arrest of two people when roughly 15 pounds of narcotics was discovered inside a vehicle, according to authorities.
At about 3:15 p.m. on April 27, a California Highway Patrol Central Valley K-9 officer stopped a 2010 Subaru for a traffic violation along northbound Interstate 5 near State Route 140, according to a CHP news release. When making contact with the vehicle’s occupants, the officer reportedly observed multiple indicators of suspected criminal activity.
Authorities said that while searching the vehicle, the officer located about 15 pounds of suspected cocaine divided into one kilogram amounts and sealed within bags that contained almonds.
The driver of the vehicle, Angel Lopez Velasco, 20, of Mount Vernon Wash., and passenger Jenifer Cisneros, 20, of Burlington, Wash., were both arrested and booked into the Merced County Jail on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale and transportation of a controlled substance across noncontiguous counties, according to the release.
The roughly 15 pounds of narcotics have an estimated street value of about $700,000, according to authorities. The case has been turned over to the Merced Area Gang Narcotics Enforcement Team.
