The same day she was sworn into service, Clark-Vancouver Regional Drug Task Force drug detection dog Piper helped nab one of the task force’s largest drug seizures to date, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s deputies, task force officers, and the Multnomah County Special Investigations Unit arrested three people and seized more than 25 pounds of heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine, $220,000 in cash, guns and two cars Wednesday evening, the sheriff’s office said.
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Investigators received word Wednesday that Miguel Trujeque Magna, 32, and Juana Santiago Santos, 23, both of Mexico, would be traveling north of Vancouver to buy drugs, according to the sheriff’s office.
Officers followed the two north to the Seattle area, where they met with Luciano Molina Rios, 45, also of Mexico, and allegedly observed the three counting money and making some kind of transaction.
The three drove two cars back to Clark County, and deputies pulled the three over as they passed the Northeast 179th Street exit along Interstate 5. There, deputies reported, they found 2 pounds of heroin and arrested the three.
That evening, officers searched a home at Evergreen Park Apartments in east Vancouver.
There, they reported finding firearms — including a stolen assault-style rifle — cash and 6.5 pounds of heroin, 3.8 pounds of cocaine and 15.4 pounds of methamphetamine. Investigators estimated the total street value of the drugs at $270,000.
The bust was the first for the drug task force’s new drug detection dog, black Lab Piper, who was commissioned earlier Wednesday.
She was “instrumental in the discovery of the drugs and weapons and the successful conclusion of this investigation,” the sheriff’s office said.
Two-year-old Piper is the task force’s first drug dog in 14 years. The unit bought and trained her for about $15,000, using grant money and confiscated cash.
On Tuesday, her first day on the job, and the day before she was sworn in, she helped officers sniff out drugs hidden in a home in Battle Ground.
Rios was arrested on suspicion of three counts of possession a controlled substance with the intent to deliver methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine; unlawful possession of a firearm; possession of a stolen firearm; maintaining a drug dwelling; and conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with the intent to deliver heroin.
Magna was arrested on suspicion of two counts of possession of controlled substance with the intent to deliver heroin and cocaine; unlawful possession of a firearm; and criminal impersonation.
Santos was arrested on suspicion of two counts of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver heroin and cocaine.
