VICTORVILLE, Calif., Dec. 2 (UPI) — California Highway Patrol said officers discovered $11 million worth of heroin after pulling over a tractor-trailer for speeding.
“I’ve been with the Highway Patrol for 29 years and this is my largest drug seizure of heroin. This is rare having this much,” CHP officer Robert Mendenhall, who stopped the tractor-trailer, said.
The vehicle was stopped in the city of Hesperia for speeding on the northbound 15 Freeway north of the 395 Freeway at about 8 a.m. on Thursday.
After making the stop, Mendenhall said he deployed his K9 when he saw the driver acting suspiciously. Mendenhall said the driver told him that he was heading to Canada.
The vehicle’s contents were unloaded in Victorville near a CHP office.
“The story and his nervousness brought on the attention — that there’s something going on here,” Mendenhall said. “Subsequently, I pulled out my K9. Sniffed the exterior of the tractor-trailer. The dog alerted. The dog also then alerted inside the trailer. We then located a large quantity of narcotics inside the rear of the trailer mixed in with the load.”
Authorities said the roughly 200 pounds worth of cocaine is worth an estimated street value of $11 million. The driver was arrested for possession and transportation of narcotics.
