Thanks to K-9 Ruger and his human partner, what was a seemingly “routine” traffic stop turned into the seizure of tens of thousands of fentanyl pills.
On August 29th at 1:35 p.m., a Placer County Sheriff’s K-9 deputy conducted a traffic stop on eastbound Interstate 80 at the Maple Street exit, in North Auburn.
K-9 Ruger, who is certified in narcotics detection, alerted his handler to the driver’s side of the vehicle that was pulled over.
Upon a search of that area, the deputy located five aluminum foil-lined packages that were vacuum sealed with plastic.
The deputy observed parts of the packages that exposed blue-green M30 tablets, commonly known as fentanyl pills.
During the investigation, the deputy determined each package contained approximately 10,000 tablets – which amounted to about 50,000 fentanyl pills total. The deputy also located four cell phones inside the vehicle.
A search of the driver and passenger revealed $898 in the driver’s wallet and $105 in the passenger’s wallet.
The driver, 27-year-old Brigido Lopez-Beltran, and passenger, 32-year-old Joaquin Mardueno, were both arrested for possession and sale of narcotics.
(Placer County Sheriff's Office)
