The seizure of 25 kilograms of cocaine is one of the first major drug seizures since the Summit County Sheriff’s Office purchased a drug-sniffing dog last year.
The Summit County Sheriff’s Office seized 25 kilograms of cocaine Wednesday, March 8, during a traffic stop, according to a news release.
Around noon, the K9 Narcotic Interdiction and Detection Team initiated a traffic stop based on intelligence received from state and federal law enforcement agencies monitoring the movement of narcotics across the state, the news release from the Sheriff’s Office states.
During the traffic stop the team’s drug sniffing dog — Baby Blue — and her handler successfully detected cocaine in the vehicle, the Sheriff’s Office said in the release. The 25 kilograms of cocaine tested positive for both cocaine and fentanyl and has an estimated street value of $800,000, according to the release.
Baby Blue is trained to detect the odors of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. While she is not trained to detect fentanyl — a potent synthetic opioid linked to an increase in overdose deaths in recent years — many illegal street drugs these days are tainted with fentanyl, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The driver of the vehicle was booked on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant and released prior to a search warrant being executed on the vehicle, the release states. The Colorado State Patrol Smuggling, Trafficking and Interdiction Section, the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration assisted, according to the news release.
Sean Hocking
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