Driver arrested after heroin found inside luggage during Merced County stop, CHP says

The California Highway Patrol says a driver was arrested during a traffic stop near Los Banos after an officer and his K-9 found more than 10 pounds of heroin inside a suitcase.

At about 1:10 p.m. Sept. 15 the CHP officer conducted the traffic stop on a 2022 Toyota Camry for a traffic violation. The driver had been traveling along northbound Interstate 5 just north of Highway 152, according to CHP Officer Eric Zuniga.

During the stop the officer noticed factors which led him to suspect the driver of the vehicle, identified as Carlos Beltran Ramirez , 30, of Yuba City, was engaged in criminal activity.

K-9 Officer “Bruce” was used to perform a sniff of the vehicle and alerted the officer to the odor of narcotics. The officer searched the vehicle and located the driver’s suitcase on the backseat.

The suitcase contained about 11.5 pounds of heroin, according to a CHP news release.

Beltran Ramirez was arrested on suspicion of possession of narcotics for sale and transporting narcotics across non-contiguous counties, the CHP said.

This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 5:17 PM.