More than $1M in narcotics found during I5 traffic stop in Merced County, CHP says

California Highway Patrol officers say traffic stop in the Los Banos area led to the arrest of a driver after more than $1 million in narcotics was found inside the vehicle.

At 2:08 p.m. Feb. 11 a CHP officer stopped a 2015 Hyundai Sonata for following too close on northbound Interstate 5, north of Highway 152, according to Merced area CHP Officer Eric Zuniga.

During the stop, the officer reportedly noticed multiple factors that led him to believe the driver was engaged in criminal activity. According to the CHP, K-9 Beny alerted the officer to the odor of narcotics while performing an exterior sniff of the vehicle.

The officer searched the vehicle and located about 15 pounds of counterfeit oxycodone pills that were believed to contain fentanyl.

The driver of the vehicle, identified as Jesus Ochoa, 33, of Mesa, Wash., was arrested on suspicion of possession of narcotics for sale and transporting narcotics across non-contiguous counties, according to authorities.

The CHP said the street value of the pills was determined to be about $1,021,500. According to the CHP, counterfeit pills are dangerous because people may think they are purchasing legitimate prescription medication.