Patricia Cristal (left), 28, and Esmeralda Cristal, 26, were arrested after CHP officers found about 55,000 suspected Xanax pills worth an estimated $1 million during a Fresno County traffic stop. (Fresno County SO)
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California Highway Patrol officers seized about 55,000 pills believed to be Xanax, with an estimated street value of $1 million, during a traffic stop near Coalinga, authorities said.
Patricia Cristal, 28, and Esmeralda Cristal, 26, both of Paramount, were arrested following the Sunday stop.
A Coalinga Area CHP officer stopped a 2016 Honda Accord for a traffic violation around 12:01 p.m. on Highway 198, east of Interstate 5, in Fresno County.
CHP said the officer noticed several indicators suggesting the driver and passenger were involved in criminal activity. Both women declined to consent to a search of the vehicle.
The officer requested a K-9 unit, and Kings County sheriff’s deputies responded to assist. CHP said the dog alerted to the vehicle during an exterior sniff.
The CHP officer then conducted a probable cause search and found two large plastic storage containers in the trunk containing approximately 55,000 pills believed to be alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax.
Authorities estimated the pills’ street value at approximately $1 million.
Both women were booked into the Fresno County Jail on suspicion of possession of benzodiazepines for sale, transportation for sale across noncontiguous counties, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
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