The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has revealed that what may have been an ordinary warning for having a too-dark window tint turned into a big drug bust.
Last Friday around 7 p.m., a PCSO K9 deputy pulled over a 2015 Chrysler vehicle for a traffic stop on Interstate 10. The deputy had noticed the car’s extremely dark tinted windows and decided to make the stop. This turned out to be a very good decision, as once he pulled the vehicle over, he observed several inconsistencies with the answers provided by 29-year-old driver Araceli Gonzalez and her lone passenger, 28-year-old Danett Ruiz from Nogales.
PCSO officials say the deputy conducted a search of the car, which revealed more than two pounds of heroin hidden in a pink bubble wrap mailing package underneath the passenger compartment, as well as more than $6,000 in cash.
“Our deputy was just going to write the driver a warning for the window tint violation, but thanks to his training, he was able to prevent Heroin from making it further into our state and our community,” said Sheriff Mark Lamb, in the release. “This is just another example of cartel taking advantage of the opioid epidemic, and we need to not only cut the supply, but help end the demand.”
Both Gonzalez and Ruiz were arrested and taken to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Adult Detention Center in Florence, AZ. They face charges of possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics for sale, and transportation of narcotics for sale.
For more information, please visit the official website of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office here.