It may be the dog days of summer, but not for Hanks, the drug-sniffing canine of the California Highway Patrol.
Because of Hanks’ dependable nose, officers arrested Christopher Perez, 26, on drug-related charges. Perez was arraigned Monday in San Joaquin County Superior Court after the discovery of 50,000 suspected fentanyl-laced pills in the trunk of his car, the county District Attorney’s Office said.
The CHP says Hanks, its “four-legged crime fighter,” alerted an officer to the presence of the deadly narcotics during a traffic stop last Thursday.
Perez’ white Nissan Altima was pulled over at 6:50 p.m. Thursday traveling southbound on Interstate 5 near Thornton, about 25 miles north of Stockton, after a CHP officer noticed the driver was speeding and tailgating. As if that wasn’t enough, the car lacked license plates, prosecutors said.
Perez told officers he had come from Los Angeles to sell his car in the area and that he intended to catch a rideshare back home.
CHP K9 Hanks conducted what the DA’s office calls “an open-air sniff” and signaled that narcotics appeared to be present. Searching the car, officers found five plastic bags containing the blue M30 pills in the trunk. They are believed to be counterfeit oxycodone containing fentanyl, prosecutors said.
In addition, officers found several interior panels in the car that appeared to have been recently removed and a black pry bar behind the driver’s seat.
“This seizure represents thousands of potentially fatal doses that will never make it to our streets,” District Attorney Ron Freitas said in a statement.
Perez was arraigned on three charges involving transportation and possession of fentanyl for sale and possession of more than four kilograms of the narcotic. He was being held at the jail with bail set at $75,000, the district attorney’s office said.
“Thank you to K9 Hanks and the CHP Valley Division for the great work,” the DA’s office said.