BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — On Wednesday, July 5 at approximately 9:30 am, an officer with the California Highway Patrol pulled over a 2014 Honda Accord on White Lane at Wible Road in Bakersfield, according to a CHP press release.
The officer says that after observing what the press release called "several indicators of criminal activity," he brought in K9 Officer Bart to sniff around the car.
According to CHP, Bart alerted to the presence of drugs and the officer conducted a probable cause search of the Honda. The officer says Bart helped him locate approximately 97 pounds of methamphetamine in the trunk of the car.
CHP says the driver of the Honda, Luis Cecena, 32, and the passenger, Luis Moreno-Andrade, 18, both of Mexico City, were taken into custody on charges of transportation and possession for sale of methamphetamine and the case was turned over to the Kern County High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Team.
The CHP press release goes on to say that following up on the Bakersfield arrest, Kern HIDTA team members served a search warrant on a property located in the 1700 block of East Fresno Avenue in Shafter, where they discovered a full methamphetamine conversion lab. According to law enforcement, investigators also found around 100 gallons of liquid methamphetamine and 4 additional suspects.
Jose Aguierre-Chaidez, 22, of Sinaloa, Mexico, Felipe Angulo-Renteria, 36, of Mexico City, Jose Violante-Medina, 44, of Mexico City, and Ronald Cain, 50, of Bakersfield, were arrested without incident at the Shafter property.
A total of 6 suspects, 2 from the car and 4 from the residence, are currently being held in the Kern County Jail on charges of manufacturing, transporting, and possessing illegal drugs for the purpose of selling them.
Kern HIDTA, the Kern County Fire Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Kern County Sheriff's Office, Kern County Environmental Health, and Shafter County Code Compliance coordinated their efforts throughout the investigation and arrests.
