A police K-9 helped lead officers to roughly 1,000 pounds of cocaine concealed inside a big rig following a traffic stop on the 15 Freeway in Barstow over the weekend, authorities said.

The driver, an Arizona man, was arrested during the bust, which took place about 12:15 a.m. Saturday along the northbound side of the freeway near Lenwood Road, according to the Barstow Police Department.

Officers initially stopped the truck for a traffic violation, the agency said in a written statement.

“A Barstow Police officer deployed his K-9 around the tractor-trailer, which alerted to the trailer, indicating the presence of narcotics,” the statement said.

The driver consented to a search of the truck, during which officers found 453 kilograms, or 999 pounds, of cocaine, “wrapped in packaging and concealed between boxes,” officials stated.

An evidence photo showed many of the bundles of drugs were adorned with mugshots of former Columbian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. Others featured a logo reading “98%.”

Yuvraj Singh, 32, of Arizona was arrested on suspicion of possession of narcotics for sales and transportation of narcotics for sales, county booking logs show.

He was released from custody pending legal proceedings on Saturday night after posting bail.

Anyone with information was urged to contact the Barstow Police Department’s on-duty watch commander at (760) 256-2211.

Information may also be provided anonymously to the We-Tip hotline at (800) 782-7463.

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This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: K-9 sniffs out 1,000 pounds of cocaine inside big rig on 15 Freeway in Barstow
Reporting by Brian Day, Victorville Daily Press / Victorville Daily Press
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