Bruce the CHP drug-detecting dog sniffs out suspected cocaine during Valley I-5 stop

A driver was arrested during an Interstate 5 traffic stop after a drug-detecting dog located narcotics hidden inside the car, the California Highway Patrol said.

The stop happened about 5:30 p.m Sept. 1 when a 2016 Nissan Sentra was pulled over for a vehicle code violation along northbound I-5 at California Avenue in Fresno County, according to Merced area CHP spokesman Officer Eric Zuniga.

During the stop, the officer noticed multiple factors and tradecraft which led him to believe that the driver, 47-year-old Roberto Medina Gonzalez of Federal Way, Wash., was possibly engaged in criminal activity, Zuniga said in a news release.

Gonzalez consented to a search and CHP K-9 Officer Bruce took over, alerting the officer to the odor of narcotics. A search reveled about 24 pounds of suspected cocaine that was hidden inside an aftermarket compartment in the floor of the vehicle.

Gonzalez was arrested on suspicion of possession of narcotics for sale and transporting narcotics across non-contiguous counties, according to the CHP.

This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 2:45 PM.