Police officers have several ways to combat dangerous crimes in their communities. They often do this with traffic stops, which can also be necessary components of lengthy investigations. Earlier this year, police arrested two people after a traffic stop and an encounter with an undercover police officer. Now, these people are facing decades in prison for drug trafficking and other charges. 

This traffic stop was a part of a much larger drug trafficking investigation

Illegal drugs pose significant safety risks to communities all over the nation. Because of this, police departments are often conducting months-long investigations. According to 2 News, this happened on January 23rd when two people were planning to sell drugs to an individual they had been communicating with in Washoe County, Nevada. However, they didn’t know this person was an undercover cop. Upon attempting to deliver the drugs, they were met with a traffic stop, which led to a search of their car. 

During the traffic stop search, the police found 2 pounds of meth and 9.5 pounds of fentanyl. Specifically, they had the illegal drugs Hidden in a backpack inside the vehicle. The Regional Narcotics Unit detectives, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office K9 team, and the Nevada State Police were all on the scene. In total, this law enforcement effort uncovered 17.03 pounds of fentanyl, 2.25 pounds of meth, and several firearms. 

Now, months after the traffic stop, the two people, Luis Chavez-Navarro, 22, and Luisa Cardona-Valle, 27, have entered a guilty plea. Luis is facing 10-25 years in prison, and Luisa is facing 8 to 20 years for drug trafficking. According to the report, this volume of fentanyl is equal to about 3.8 million lethal doses.