Potter County Traffic Stop Nets Nearly $1 Million In Meth

Sunday afternoon a traffic stop turned into a major drug interdiction.

A Potter County Sheriff's Deputy stopped a vehicle on I-40 for a traffic offense.  The vehicle was occupied by Gerardo Ramirez, 26 of Bellflower, CA. and Karla Molinar, 19 from Phoenix, AZ.

During the traffic stop Molinar admitted she is in the United States illegally.  The deputy identified other indicators of possible criminal activity and asked for consent to search the vehicle.  Ramirez refused to consent to the search.  A canine unit was called to the scene.

The canine alerted officers to the presence of narcotics.  During a search of the vehicle over 25 pounds of meth was found in the spare tire compartment.  The meth was packaged in 20 bundles and has a street value of $903,168.

Both occupants were arrested and booked into Potter County.