LITTLETON, MASS. (WHDH) - Police in Littleton say a routine traffic stop led to officers making two arrests and seizing approximately 20 kilograms of cocaine from a vehicle.
The police department said that on Wednesday, March 29, while out on Great Road around Beaverbrook Bridge, Littleton Police Patrolman Jared Richard noticed a vehicle swerving across the roadway’s double yellow line.
Stopping the vehicle, Richard discovered the driver, Erasmo Lira-Mendez, 38, was not licensed to operate a motor vehicle, according to the police department.
The patrolman also discovered the driver’s passenger, identified as Cornelio-Rene Hernandez, 51, was wanted on an arrest warrant from out of Texas, leading to both individuals being taken into custody.
According to a news release from the department and Littleton Police Chief Matthew Pinard, while conducting an inventory search of the vehicle, officers found 20 large bags, containing approximately one kilogram of cocaine each. Police also found $1,143 on Lira-Mendez.
“The attention to detail and dedication to duty that was shown by Patrolman Richard led to the largest drug seizure in the history of the Littleton Police Department, and I commend Patrolman Richard and all of the other officers who assisted on a job well done,” Chief Pinard said in a statement. “The seizure of such a large amount of drugs shows the scale of the drug trade and just how much we’re up against as we work to save people’s lives from the scourge of drug abuse.”
Lira-Mendez and Hernandez were consequently held without bail and arraigned in Ayer District Court on Thursday, according to the release.
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