A routine traffic stop near one of Modesto’s busiest freeway ramps turned into a major narcotics case last week, with officers allegedly finding a huge meth stash before investigators searched the suspects’ residence. More than 60 pounds of methamphetamine, firearms, packaging materials and drug paraphernalia were recovered, according to police.
CBS Sacramento reports that officers stopped the vehicle during a traffic enforcement operation near Kansas Avenue and southbound Highway 99. A Modesto Police Department K-9 alerted to drugs hidden inside, prompting investigators to seek a search warrant for the suspects’ home.
A K-9 Alert Turned A Highway Stop Into A Search Warrant
The freeway corridor has seen another unusually large meth seizure before. In 2017, KCRA reported that a California Highway Patrol K-9 found 66 pounds of crystal meth in an SUV stopped on southbound Highway 99 near Kansas Avenue, though that was a separate case involving different suspects.
The latest bust also follows a massive, unrelated Central Valley investigation earlier this year. As detailed by The Modesto Bee, “Operation Trash Panda” led to coordinated raids in Modesto, Turlock and Calaveras County that authorities said uncovered roughly 2,700 pounds of methamphetamine, along with firearms and marijuana.
Two Men Face Felony Drug Charges
Police identified the suspects as 63-year-old Michael Randell Haney and 32-year-old Miguel Salvado Torres Hernandez. Both were booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on felony charges of possessing and transporting methamphetamine for sale, CBS Sacramento reported.
The Modesto Police Department said the investigation remains ongoing, so additional details or arrests could follow. The charges are allegations, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove them guilty in court.
