Police: Charges filed after K9 finds narcotics in traffic stop

A traffic stop on Thursday night led to the arrest of a woman on drug-related charges.

Raven S. Lopez was charged with possession of narcotics, possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia, police said.

At about 10 p.m., an officer made a traffic stop on a silver 2004 Toyota Highlander that was found to have suspended registration due to no insurance, police said.

According to a probable cause statement, the vehicle came to a stop in the CVS parking lot at State Route 347 and West Smith-Enke Road, where the officer identified the driver, a male, and the passenger, Lopez.

The driver told the officer the vehicle was owned by his grandmother, and that he did not know about the insurance, police said.

The driver denied consent to search the vehicle, but the officer deployed the department’s police dog, K9 Karma, to conduct an “open-air sniff,” which gave officers a positive indication for the odor of narcotics on the driver side door seam, the probable cause statement said.

A subsequent search of the vehicle turned up a black bag on the passenger seat that allegedly contained two plastic baggies with a total of 14 M30 pills (fake oxycodone commonly containing fentanyl) and another small baggie with white powder that later tested positive for cocaine, police said.

Lopez was arrested and booked into Pinal County Jail on the charges, police said.

The driver was not charged, police said.