handcuffs beside a CHP patrol vehicle during a Jan. 16 drug bust in Fresno County. Photo courtesy CHP
With the federal government focusing on illegal immigration and the scourge of drugs coming across the U.S.-Mexico Border, the California Highway Patrol has made another significant bust in this renewed war on drugs.
According to the CHP’s Weekly Top-5 news release, on Jan. 16, “a diligent and proactive Central Division CHP K-9 sergeant made an enforcement stop on a 2025 Chevrolet Trailblazer for a traffic violation on the northbound Interstate-5 and Panoche Road in Fresno County.”
Some 17 pounds of suspected cocaine, shown here in tightly wrapped packages, was discovered during a traffic stop in Fresno County. Photo courtesy CHP
The sergeant became suspicious of the driver due to his actions, the release said, and after getting permission to search, found a gym bag sitting on the back seat stuffed with some 17-pounds of suspected cocaine with “an approximate value of $640,000.”
The driver, whose name was not released, “was arrested and booked in the Fresno County Jail on charges of possession of cocaine for sale and transportation of controlled substances across noncontiguous counties,” the news release said.
The bust was significant locally because Fresno County is just two counties over from SLO County and a 2-hour drive down Hwy 46 to the Central Coast.
