Nearly $200K worth of meth, fentanyl seized in Yavapai County traffic stops
Mar 12, 2021, 4:45 AM | Updated: Mar 29, 2021, 9:03 pm
PHOENIX — A 45-year-old Phoenix man and three others were arrested as part of multiple traffic stops in Yavapai County that resulted in the combined seizure of more than $200,000 worth of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Along with the Phoenix man, a Camp Verde man was arrested in one traffic stop and two men from California were arrested in a third traffic stop on drug-related charges on Wednesday, authorities said.
According to police, Victor Moreno-Sanchez of Phoenix was pulled over by Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office deputies near Interstate 17 in Cordes Junction for a traffic violation.
A YCSO K-9 was deployed after there were some inconsistencies in the conversation with Moreno-Sanchez and the dog alerted deputies of drugs inside the car.
Moreno-Sanchez was arrested and charged with transportation of narcotic drugs for sale and transportation of dangerous drugs for sale after 10 pounds of methamphetamine and an estimated 10,000 fentanyl pills were found in the vehicle.
The other traffic stop resulted in the seizure of more than 100 fentanyl pills, three grams of methamphetamine and heroin with 26-year-old Jacob Shaver of Camp Verde being arrested on charges of possession of narcotic drugs for sale, possession of narcotic drugs and possession of dangerous drugs.
Two men from California, 36-year-old and Juan Sanchez-Lopez and 41-year-old Julian Salazar-Luna, were pulled over in the third traffic stop for reckless driving.
Deputies deployed a K-9 after observing suspicious behavior which resulted in the discovery of 46 pounds of methamphetamine wrapped in one-pound bundles inside the pair’s vehicle.
Both men were charged with transporting narcotics for sale.
“People like these four drug dealers don’t value human life and I’m glad our deputies and [Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking] detectives acted so quickly in getting them and their drugs off our streets,” Sheriff David Rhodes of Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said in the release.
