RACINE, Wis. — Deputies in Racine County were able to confiscate $110,000 worth of fentanyl-laced cocaine after a K-9 dog smelled the drugs inside a vehicle and deputies spotted a "trap" hiding the drugs from plain view, the sheriff's office says.
The Racine County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday, a deputy pulled a vehicle over on I-94 for a traffic violation. During the stop, the deputy reports the driver provided "conflicting information," which made the deputy suspicious.
Other responding deputies brought K-9 Zeke. While sniffing around the vehicle, the dog gave a positive alert for the presence of contraband inside the vehicle. The deputies then began searching the vehicle and came upon a hidden compartment, also known as a "trap," inside the vehicle.
Deputies impounded the vehicle at their substation. After several hours, deputies found nearly 4 and a half pounds of cocaine, which also tested positive for fentanyl, inside the hidden compartment. The estimated street value for the cocaine is $110,000, the sheriff's office said.
The suspect is being held on multiple felony drug related charges.
Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said in the statement:
“I am extremely proud of the work done by the deputies involved in this case. From a simple traffic stop, the deputy performed an interview of the driver who gave answers that aroused the deputy’s suspicions. The back-up deputy used K9 Zeke to establish probable cause of the presence of contraband, and the deputies thoroughly and meticulously searched the vehicle – ultimately defeating a sophisticated trap compartment to locate the fentanyl laced cocaine. I have grave concerns that a person is peddling nearly four-and-a-half pounds of this poison. It is impossible to measure the number of lives saved by these deputies, but I do know that fentanyl poisoning is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45, and over 107,000 Americans died of overdoses last year alone. These are not just drug cases; these are potential homicides!”
