SeaTac man arrested for possessing $7.3M in fentanyl, cocaine in Calif.
Sep 19, 2023, 7:14 AM | Updated: 11:37 am
(Photo courtesy of California Highway Patrol)
(Photo courtesy of California Highway Patrol)
Police officers arrested a man from SeaTac after they seized more than 150 pounds of cocaine and fentanyl-laced pills during a traffic stop on Interstate 5 in Fresno County, according to California Highway Patrol (CHP).
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Carlos Jordan Lopez, 27, possessed drugs with an estimated street value of approximately $7.3 million. The arrest happened Sept. 8 after a canine officer from the Central Valley CHP made a traffic stop on Lopez’ 2013 Toyota Camry.
During the traffic stop, officers noticed the Camry’s trunk held a huge truck tire. According to CHP, the tire was exceptionally heavy and smelled strongly of drugs. Approximately 107 pounds of fentanyl-laced tablets were recovered by police when officers cut into the tire to retrieve them. The car also held an estimated 45 pounds of cocaine.
“These drugs were definitely en route somewhere within our county here in Fresno or somewhere in the state,” CHP officer Mike Salas told Los Angeles’ KTLA 5. “It could have been in contact with hundreds of people across the state, if not the country, if this traffic stop did not happen. Countless lives have been saved thanks to this one-stop.”
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Lopez was booked into the Fresno County Jail on the charges of possession of cocaine and fentanyl for sale and for the transportation of cocaine and fentanyl across multiple counties.
