Authorities in Mesa County on Tuesday morning found 14 pounds of suspected heroin in a vehicle carrying two Californians on Interstate 70.
The county sheriff’s office says after the discovery, 24-year-old Ricky Medina and 23-year-old April Gomez were taken into custody on suspicion of importing, distribution and possession of the drug.
A deputy stopped the pair’s vehicle — a black Nissan Altima — at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, 28 miles from the Utah border after noticing it didn’t have a license plate, investigators say.
“When speaking with the two occupants later identified as Medina and Gomez, the deputy noticed a strong odor of raw marijuana coming from the car,” the sheriff’s office said in a Friday news release. “After getting consent to search the vehicle, the deputy found 6 large plastic wrapped packages behind a panel.”
Traffic stop leads to 14 lbs of heroin seized by the Western Colorado Drug Task Force
— Mesa County Sheriff (@SheriffMesaColo)
The packages, according to investigators, contained about 14 pounds of a substance that tested positive for heroin.
Gomez and Medina were booked into the Mesa County jail and are being held in lieu of $50,000 cash-only bail.
