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Traffic stop nets heroin
Chris Dabovich
San Pedro Valley News-Sun
A routine traffic stop on State Route 80 near St. David Thursday resulted in the seizure of seven pounds of heroin and the arrest of a California man and woman.
Arizona Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Joy Craig said a DPS canine alerted to a false compartment in a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche truck that had been stopped by authorities at milepost 296 just south of Benson. Authorities discovered 7.5 pounds of heroin in the hidden compartment.
Maria Luisa Sanchez, 44, and Antonio Bermudez, 42, both of Los Angeles, were booked into the Cochise County Jail in Willcox on charges of possession of a narcotic drug, possession for sale and transportation of a narcotic drug for sale. The Avalanche has also been seized, said Craig.
Street value is estimated at $175,000.
The couple is also charged with the child abuse because their 16-year-old daughter was in the vehicle, said Craig.
The amount of heroin seized Thursday is considerably more than the Border Alliance Group or BAG - a multi-agency drug eradication task force composed of county, state and federal officers - has seized throughout the year.
According to BAG's bi-annual drug seizure statistics, eight grams of heroin had been seized by the task force in Cochise County through Sept. 12. The numbers show 38.5 pounds of cocaine, nine tons of marijuana, 12 marijuana plants, 28.3 ounces of methamphetamine, $7,787 in currency, three weapons valued at $700 and 16 vehicles valued at $153,335.
The canine, "Mack," that detected the heroin is on duty 40 hours a week, said Craig, noting the dog is named after Patrolman Noah "Mack" Merrill, killed in the line of duty by a passing tractor-trailer truck eight miles east of Benson on Interstate 10 on Dec. 11, 1978 while on a traffic stop.
A DPS news release did not offer a value of the seized heroin. A DPS photo shows eight individual packages.
San Pedro Valley News-Sun
A routine traffic stop on State Route 80 near St. David Thursday resulted in the seizure of seven pounds of heroin and the arrest of a California man and woman.
Arizona Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Joy Craig said a DPS canine alerted to a false compartment in a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche truck that had been stopped by authorities at milepost 296 just south of Benson. Authorities discovered 7.5 pounds of heroin in the hidden compartment.
Maria Luisa Sanchez, 44, and Antonio Bermudez, 42, both of Los Angeles, were booked into the Cochise County Jail in Willcox on charges of possession of a narcotic drug, possession for sale and transportation of a narcotic drug for sale. The Avalanche has also been seized, said Craig.
Street value is estimated at $175,000.
The couple is also charged with the child abuse because their 16-year-old daughter was in the vehicle, said Craig.
The amount of heroin seized Thursday is considerably more than the Border Alliance Group or BAG - a multi-agency drug eradication task force composed of county, state and federal officers - has seized throughout the year.
According to BAG's bi-annual drug seizure statistics, eight grams of heroin had been seized by the task force in Cochise County through Sept. 12. The numbers show 38.5 pounds of cocaine, nine tons of marijuana, 12 marijuana plants, 28.3 ounces of methamphetamine, $7,787 in currency, three weapons valued at $700 and 16 vehicles valued at $153,335.
The canine, "Mack," that detected the heroin is on duty 40 hours a week, said Craig, noting the dog is named after Patrolman Noah "Mack" Merrill, killed in the line of duty by a passing tractor-trailer truck eight miles east of Benson on Interstate 10 on Dec. 11, 1978 while on a traffic stop.
A DPS news release did not offer a value of the seized heroin. A DPS photo shows eight individual packages.
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