Traffic stop leads to meth drug bust, CHP says

MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Two people were arrested after a traffic stop led to the seizure of over $380,000 in methamphetamine on Sept. 29, the California Highway Patrol announced Tuesday.

CHP says around 5:20 p.m. a canine sergeant conducted an enforcement stop on a car for a traffic violation on northbound I-5 at Nees Avenue in Fresno County.

During the contact, the sergeant learned the driver, 32-year-old Ricardo Jose Melgar of Gilroy, was unlicensed and the car was not registered to either him or his female passenger, 24-year-old Leslie Patino Higareda of San Jose.

While searching the vehicle officers state they found more than 40 pounds of crystal meth in the rear cargo area with an estimated street value of about $381,360.

As a result, authorities confirmed Melgar and Higareda were arrested and the case was turned over to the Fresno High Impact Investigation Team. Melgar was booked under suspicion of possession of methamphetamine for sale, and transportation of methamphetamine across noncontiguous counties.

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