California K-9 finds pounds of meth hidden in dog treat boxes during traffic stop: police
A California K-9 uncovered pounds of methamphetamine in an unlikely place: boxes of dog treats.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office made a Facebook post about the incident on Feb. 15. The traffic stop occurred Tuesday, when a sheriff’s deputy stopped a vehicle driving through Petaluma.
The vehicle was driven by suspect Angelina Gutierrez, 41, who was charged with felony transportation of a controlled substance.
“During the traffic stop, the deputy learned the driver had a misdemeanor arrest warrant out of Mendocino County and was told there was a methamphetamine pipe in the vehicle,” the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office explained in a press release.
Authorities say that the deputy and his K-9 then “conducted a sniff” of the vehicle, suspecting narcotics.
“[The K-9 was] alerted to dog treat boxes inside of the vehicle,” the sheriff’s office described. “The deputy then searched the vehicle and found the dog treat boxes contained packages of methamphetamine.”
“The deputy also located additional packages of methamphetamine inside of a cat litter box.”
In total, the deputy and his K-9 found ten pounds of meth, distributed in ten bags.
The police dog’s efforts were commended by residents in the Facebook post’s comment section.
“Good boy! It’s probably best that the K-9 officer doesn’t know what became of all his great work!” one local wrote.
“Of all places they hid it in dog treat boxes. Awesome work everyone!” another commented.
Gutierrez was transported to the Sonoma County Jail, where she was given zero-dollar bail and released.