That’s Nuts! $700K Of Cocaine Found In Almond Bags During Traffic Stop

The California Highway Patrol found 15 lbs of cocaine with a street value of $700,000 during a traffic stop in Merced Country on April 27, the CHP reported.

A CHP officer found suspected cocaine in bags containing almonds during a traffic stop April 27, 2024. (California Highway Patrol)

Around 3:15 p.m., a 2010 Subaru driving on I-5 around 30 miles west of Merced was pulled over for a traffic violation. During the stop, the officer became suspicious and conducted a search using a K-9 officer, a CHP spokesman told the Epoch Times.

“It was just a normal traffic stop,” said CHP Officer Gregorio Rodriguez. “That’s kind of what usually happens. Something was out of the ordinary. The officer did see some criminal indicators and the dog hit on the bags of almonds.”

During the search, the police dog sniffed out the cocaine, divided into 1-kilogram amounts and factory sealed within bags containing almonds. The driver, 20-year-old Angel Lopez Velasco of Mt. Vernon, Washington, and his passenger, 20-year-old Jennifer Cisneros of Burlington Washington, were arrested and booked into the Merced County Jail on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance for sale, as well as transporting a controlled substance across noncontinguous counties.

The case is currently in the hands of the Merced Area Gang Narcotics Enforcement team, according to the report.